Oil company sources confirmed the awards to Upstream, though formal announcements have yet to be made.

Sources told Upstream that Canada’s TransGlobe Energy Corporation has emerged as the biggest winner, with four blocks, followed by Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell, which added two more concessions to its existing acreage in Egypt.

US independent Apache Energy, the largest oil producer in the prolific Western Desert, bid for six blocks but managed to pick up only one amid tough competition.

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