Egypt: BP Awarded New Offshore Exploration Block in Western Mediterranean

A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt: BP Awarded New Offshore Exploration Block in Western Mediterranean

A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

BP has won gas exploring rights in Egypt's offshore King Mariout concession in the western Mediterranean, the British-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.

This comes following its successful participation in 2021’s limited bid round organized by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company.

The concession area is located approximately 20 kilometers west of the Raven field in the Mediterranean Sea within western Nile Delta area. It offers potential for material gas discoveries that could be developed using existing infrastructure.

The area covers around 2,600 square km at a depth of between 500 and 2,000 meters.

BP owns 100% of the exploration rights area there, which enhances the chances of developing future gas discoveries by utilizing the existing infrastructure, the statement added.

It quoted BP’s North Africa Regional President Karim Alaa as saying that the new award, following EGY-MED-E5 block award in early 2022 to an equally owned partnership between BP and Eni, will leverage existing infrastructure to continue delivering hydrocarbons for Egypt’s growing gas market.

BP has been active player in the Egyptian energy industry since 60 years investing more than $35 billion.



Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TT

Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Monday, hitting its lowest in 11 days, in a move analysts attributed to a wave of caution after the surging popularity of a Chinese artificial intelligence model sparked a selloff in Western AI-related stocks.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency struggled to make gains last week, as a rally that had seen it break above $100,000 after US President Donald Trump's election ran out of steam, Reuters reported.

At 1156 GMT, bitcoin was at $98,852.17, down around 6% on the day, having fallen sharply in early trading to hit its lowest since Jan. 16.

Technology stocks plunged, as traders worried that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek could threaten Western companies' dominance of the sector, in a move some called AI's "Sputnik moment", referring to the former Soviet Union's launch of a satellite that marked the start of the space race in the late 1950s.

Bitcoin's losses are "seemingly driven by some risk-off sentiment circulating the markets currently due to DeepSeek," wrote eToro analyst Simon Peters.

Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, said a decline in Nasdaq futures had hurt crypto markets, but that disappointment over the Trump administration's announcement about a cryptocurrency stockpile had put digital assets more at risk of a sharp selloff.

Crypto failed to feature in Trump's day-one announcements after taking office last week, leaving some investors disappointed. In an executive order on Thursday, Trump created a working group to draft new crypto rules and explore a crypto stockpile, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spiked accounting guidance that the industry said had stymied crypto adoption.

The prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer also hurt riskier assets, said Thomas Puech, CEO of digital asset hedge fund Indigo.

US Federal Reserve policymakers meet this week and are expected to keep interest rates on hold.