Shares of TransGlobe, which has oil interests in Egypt and Yemen, rose as much as 14 per cent to a six-month high of C$12.45 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

“What I can confirm is we did bid on four blocks so we’re optimistic, but we have no confirmation at this point,” TransGlobe Chief Operating Officer Lloyd Herrick told Reuters.

The Calgary-based company has a 50 to 100 per cent operated and non-operated working interest in five licenses in West Gharib, East Ghazalat, West Bakr, South Alamein and South Mariut in Egypt.

“If they do get those four blocks it will be an important injection of acreage,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Al Stanton said.

“(TransGlobe) is probably … seeking the bocks adjacent to its existing acreage. West Gharib and West Bakr are its core producing assets and the four blocks it is looking at are located along trends from those fields.”

The second-biggest winner in the licensing round was Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which added two more licenses to its existing acreage in the country, Upstream said.

Egypt has been struggling to import oil since the 2011 revolution due to high deficits.

Source: Ahram Online