An executive at Royal Dutch Shell said on October 17, 2019 that Shell plans to start operating its five oil and gas leases in Egypt in the second half of 2020. In February 2019, Shell won three oil lease zones and two gas lease zones in a new round of tenders in Egypt. Gerald Schottmann, executive vice president of Shell's upstream joint venture, said in an interview in Alexandria, Egypt, that if Shell wants to expand its business in Egypt, the company is also interested in bidding for oil and gas in the Mediterranean.

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. Shortman said that Shell also applied to participate in a new round of red sea oil and gas drilling tenders in Egypt. Editor / Zhao Jing