Apex International Energy has been awarded Blocks 8 and 9 by the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) from their 2016 Bid Round.

Block 8 and 9 are both located within the prolific Abu Gharadig Basin in Egypt’s Western Desert and cover 6,714 square kilometers (2,592 square miles or 1.7 million acres) in total. Specific details are below:

• Block 8 West Badr el Din (4,180 km²)
• Block 9 South East Meleiha (2,535 km²)

Apex has committed to invest $27. 4 million during the first exploration phase to acquire and process 3D seismic and drill six exploration wells.

Roger B. Plank, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apex International Energy, said, 
“We are delighted that EGPC has awarded Apex our first concessions in Egypt, enabling us to establish a foothold in the prolific Western Desert. With 1.7 million acres now in hand, this is an important step in our mission to build an oil and gas business of scale in Egypt and we are eager to start investing in the considerable potential of these Blocks.”

Thomas M. Maher, President and Chief Operating Officer of Apex International Energy, said, 
“We are pleased to have been awarded these Blocks and look forward to working closely with EGPC and the Ministry of Petroleum to finalize the Concession Agreements as quickly as possible. Apex looks forward to applying our broad industry experience together with modern exploration and production technologies to develop the Blocks to their maximum potential.”