Egypt’s Wataniya Petroleum, owned by the National Service Projects Organization (NSPO), could see the completion of its stake sale within the next few weeks, according to comments by the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, to regional media.

El-Said revealed that 3 companies are competing to acquire a share of the national petroleum products company.

The minister added that the winning bid will be announced within a month to 6 weeks.

“The companies are still in the stages of due diligence on the company, as the winning bid will acquire the company that was recently established by the government as part of the restructuring process carried out by the deal’s advisors on Wataniya, with the agency retaining the strategic stations of a special nature under the name Wataniya,” explained El-Said to media.

According to various news outlets in the past few months, companies currently vying for the acquisition include TAQA Arabia, the UAE’s ADNOC and ENOC, and the North Petroleum International Company (NPIC) - an Egyptian subsidiary of China’s Zhen Hua Oil.

On Monday, global oil giant Shell formed an alliance with Saudi Aramco to bid for Wataniya Petroleum, however, no further details have been disclosed on their bid.

In late August, TAQA Arabia submitted a non-binding agreement to acquire fuel stations owned by Wataniya Petroleum and revealed that it was qualified for the second stage of Wataniya's tender among other investors and was invited to start the due diligence.