Exploration firm Petroceltic International has won a new licence in Egypt.

The company is part of a joint venture with Dana Petroleum and Beach Petroleum that bid on the El Qa’a Plain block in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, east of the Gulf of Suez.

Petroceltic will take a 37.5 per cent interest in the block, with Dana Petroleum operating.

The block consists of two largely unexplored areas covering 1824 sq km. The licence term runs for six years, with at least one well and 450 sq km of new 3D seismic data required in the first four years.

“We have already identified a number of structures which we believe to be potentially prospective for oil and these will be the focus of our work in the first phase of the licence,” Petroceltic chief executive Brian O’Cathain said.