According to a report by the Global Energy News Network in London, a senior executive of Royal Dutch Shell recently said that Shell plans to start operating its five oil and gas leasing zones in Egypt in the second half of 2020. In February of this year, Shell won three oil lease zones and two gas lease zones in a new round of tenders in Egypt.

As Egypt seeks to maintain investment growth driven by major discoveries, Eni, BP and ExxonMobil have also won a portion of the 12 leases in a total of 12 oil and gas leases in this round of tenders in Egypt.

Gerald Shortman, executive vice president of Shell's upstream joint venture, told Reuters that Shell also applied to participate in a new round of red sea oil and gas drilling tenders in Egypt.

In an interview with Alexandria, Egypt, Shortman said that if Shell wants to expand its business in Egypt, the company is also interested in bidding for oil and gas in the Mediterranean.