Egypt's Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) has initiated an international tender for oil and natural gas exploration in 10 sectors in the southern regions of the Gulf of Suez and Western Sahara.

According to the Company’s chairman, Sherif Sousa, the deadline for presentation of bids is on November 30.He added that the sectors included in the bidding process are; Western Gebel el Zeit, South-East Ghara, Eastern Jesoum, Taer El-Bahr, South Sinai and five other sectors of the western desert.

This tender part of Egypt’s move to boost domestic production, as increased consumption and drops in production have transformed the country from a net exporter to an importer of energy, Reuters reports.

Once a net energy exporter, Egypt started importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2015.

Anita Fatunji