Companies are lining up for Egypt’s new bid round closing March 2012, undoubtedly eyeing the western part of the country.

The amount of drilled wells per area is the greatest in the Western Desert — three times that of the Eastern Desert. The Delta has only a fraction of wells, but this number has remained the same during the past two years.

The remaining recoverable discovered hydrocarbon reserves is almost 75% natural gas and less than 20% crude oil. Nearly half of the remaining recoverable discovered natural gas reserves have been developed.

2012 will bring about an interesting period for Egypt’s oil and gas sector but will it present more bounty than 2011?