The drilling contractor for Sukari operator AngloGold Ashanti wants to produce its own gold: UK-listed mining services firm Capital Limited is looking to secure nine gold exploration blocks in the Eastern Desert, according to an unnamed government official. The firm plans to leverage its existing footprint as a drilling contractor for AngloGold Ashanti and Canadian junior Aton Resources to transition into a direct gold producer in Egypt. The requested blocks are part of the government’s newly offered 260-area gold concession map.
Why it matters: This move is what the government’s mining overhaul was designed to encourage. The Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority launched its open-sector exploration bid round in June, replacing sporadic auctions with a continuous application window to cut bureaucratic friction. The goal is to attract experienced foreign players like Capital Limited, which previously explored the Eastern Desert alongside an Emirati player before the latter exited the concession in 2021. This all feeds into the Oil Ministry’s target to raise the mining sector’s share of GDP to 5-6% by 2030, up from less than 1% currently.
Perenco moves onshore
A new batch of exploration agreements just cleared the House of Representatives, which gave its final approval to four draft laws authorizing the Oil Minister to sign contracts with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) across North Sinai, the Nile Delta, the Mediterranean, and the Eastern Desert, Reuters reports, citing local media.
Egas and Perenco North Sinai Petroleum will explore the Al Fayrouz onshore block in North Sinai, with a 3D seismic survey and one exploratory well committed. Unlike the other three, the explanatory memo shows Perenco came in with a direct, unsolicited offer for the block rather than through a competitive round.
REMEMBER- Egas awarded these blocks in June 2025, when Chevron, Shell, Eni, Cheiron, IPR, and Perenco committed a combined USD 245 mn across six blocks and at least 13 exploratory wells. The latest batch locks in three of those: Perenco’s Al Fayrouz block, IPR South Desouk’s North Tanta onshore area in the Nile Delta, and Cheiron Egypt Delta’s East Alexandria offshore block in the Mediterranean, where Cheiron is committing at least USD 42.2 mn and three exploratory wells.
MEANWHILE- Saudi Arabia’s Ardiseis, China’s BGP, and US-based WesternGeco are reportedly competing for an EGPC tender to carry out the first phase of a seismic survey covering more than 50k sq km of the Western Desert near the Libyan border. The resulting data will be used to divide the territory into exploration blocks for subsequent offerings. The government is targeting 101 oil and gas exploration wells this year, including 67 in the Western Desert.
The triangle takes shape
Elsewedy Industrial Development has signed the Golden Triangle Economic Zone Authority’s first industrial-developer contract, which plans to develop a 6 mn sqm industrial and logistics zone in Safaga over three phases, according to a statement from the authority. The zone will focus on mining and mineral-based manufacturing, alongside warehousing, logistics, and export services. Plans also include a branch of Elsewedy Technical Academy to train workers for the factories expected to set up shop in the zone.
IN CONTEXT- The signing moves the project beyond the MoU Elsewedy signed last August and delivers the final contract, which was flagged as imminent in June. It also adds an industrial backbone to a wider Golden Triangle pipeline that includes Xingfa’s planned USD 2 bn phosphate and specialty-chemicals complex and the USD 200 mn Safaga 2 multipurpose terminal, which began trial operations in June.
