Egypt: IOCs push on with exploration despite delays, debt and politics

Concerns over Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC)’s mounting debts to international oil companies and uncertainty over the hydrocarbons sector’s long-term political management have not dissuaded bidders from signing up new exploration concessions. The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) bid round announced in June has been put back by four months, but EGPC has finally announced the result of its bid round launched in October 2011.