The South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) has announced an extension of the closing date for the Red Sea international bid Round to Monday, June 29, 2026, at 12:00 PM Cairo local time. By extending the deadline, which was initially set for Monday, May 3, Ganope aims to provide additional time for companies to participate in the bid round, reinforcing Egypt’s strategy to attract investment and accelerate exploration in frontier areas.

The move follows heightened interest of foreign investors during the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Cairo Annual Conference, a high‑level geoscience and energy exploration meeting, which took place in April. Another April event that underscored the Red Sea’s exploration potential was Egypt Energy Show (EGYPES) 2026, which witnessed the finalization of several important deals, including Ganope’s agreements with bp and SLB to accelerate exploration and deploy advanced seismic technology.

Launched in November 2025, the Red Sea International Bid Round offers exploration opportunities across four offshore blocks (RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, RS-4). It is Egypt’s first bid round to apply a modern profitability-based production-sharing model (R-Factor), designed to attract global investment in deepwater and frontier areas.