The government of Egypt has awarded a new oil concession to Cheiron, formerly known as PICO International Petroleum, as part of a broader strategy to boost exploration and reverse declining production.
The deal which aims to strengthen Egypt’s hydrocarbon output will see Cheiron invest more than US $30M to drill four offshore wells in the East Gemsa area of the Gulf of Suez, alongside a US $1M signature bonus.
Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi described the deal as a model public-private partnership that supports the ministry’s goal of expanding crude oil exploration to uncover new reserves, enhance domestic supply, and reduce reliance on imports. He emphasized that the ministry continues to promote an investment-friendly environment, adopt advanced technologies, and focus on high-potential regions such as the Western Desert and the Gulf of Suez.
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Achievements
The award to Cheiron follows three exploration agreements signed in September with international companies targeting the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, and North Sinai, with combined investments exceeding US $121M. Cheiron, established in the late 1980s, is Egypt’s largest independent exploration and production company, operating across the Western and Eastern Deserts, the Nile Delta, and the Gulf of Suez.
Meanwhile, Egypt continues to report new upstream successes. In November, Khalda Petroleum—a joint venture between Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and U.S.-based Apache announced a natural gas discovery in the Western Desert, where drilling and logging confirmed an estimated output of about 36 mmcf/d. This followed a September agreement between EGPC and Apache covering five new blocks that will involve drilling 14 wells with a total investment of US $35M and a US $25M signing bonus.
Earlier in the year, Khalda brought its South NUT-1 well onstream at around 50 mmcf/d, and in August 2025 the company made a major oil discovery at the West Fewebs-1 well, producing 7,165 barrels of oil per day and 23 mmcf/d of associated gas from Paleozoic sands with a 462-foot hydrocarbon-bearing zone.
Egypt’s offshore sector is also advancing. In the Mediterranean, Shell and Stena Drilling achieved promising results at the northeast El-Amriya block in the offshore Nile Delta, following drilling at depths of around 250 meters.
These developments complement Egypt’s broader energy progress: over the past five years, the country has identified 284 new fields 217 oil and 67 gas adding roughly 1.32 billion barrels to national reserves. Alongside fossil fuel expansion, the government is accelerating its renewable energy transition. In July, Egypt allocated land to Norway’s Scatec for a US $5bn wind project in Sohag, expected to generate 5 GW of electricity annually and support the national target of sourcing 42% of energy from renewables by 2030.
