On 20 January 2020, Shell and the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) signed agreements with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for E&P activities in five blocks located in the Western Desert.   The first agreement covers activities in the Southeast Horus block in the Northern Egypt Basin. It states minimum investment expenditures of USD 24.5 million and includes a signature bonus of USD 23 million for the drilling of five exploration wells. The block, which covers an area of 2,623 sq km was granted to Shell in February 2019.   The second agreement covers activities in the South Abu Sennan block in the Abu Gharadiq Basin. It states minimum investment expenditures of USD 7.8 million and includes a signature bonus of USD 1 million for the drilling of three exploration wells. The block, which covers an area of 2,495 sq km was granted to Shell in February 2019.  The third agreement covers activities in the West El Fayum block in the Abu Gharadiq Basin. It states minimum investment expenditures of USD 24.7 million and includes a signature bonus of USD 27 million for the drilling of six exploration wells. The West El Fayum block covers an area of 3,819 sq km, it was also granted to Shell in February 2019.  The fourth agreement covers activities in the Badr El Din 17-01 (Dev) and Badr El Din 02 (Dev) blocks in the Abu Gharadiq Basin where Shell operates through Badr El-Din Petroleum Co (BAPETCO), a JV with EGPS. The agreement states minimum investment expenditures of USD 60 million (for both blocks) and a signature bonus of USD 10 million for the drilling exploratory wells (number of wells not disclosed). Each of these blocks includes two fields and covers an area of 134 sq km. The Badr El Din 17-01 (Dev) block, which was granted for the first time to BAPETCO in November 1989 includes the Badr El Din 16 and Badr El Din 17 fields. The Badr El Din 02 (Dev) block, which was awarded for the first time to BAPETCO in August 1989 includes the Badr El Din 02 and Badr El Din 02 C6 fields.
Shell (25% op, Petronas 25%, EGPC 50%) was awarded:  N. El Fanar Offshore and North Sidi Gaber Offshore blocks.Shell (100%) was awarded South Abu Sennan and South East Horus blocs.