Consortium led by France's Total wins exploration permit in Egypt

PARIS (Reuters) - An international consortium led by French energy group Total has struck an exploration and production deal for the North Ras Kanayis offshore block in the Herodotus Basin off the coast of Egypt, Total said on Monday.

The exploration block covers an area of 4,550 sq km, extending from 5 km to 150 km from the shore, with water depths ranging from 50m to 3,200m, added the company.

Total has an 35% stake in the consortium. Other partners include Shell, with a 30% stake, and the companies KUFPEC and Tharwa, which have respective stakes of 25% and 10%.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jan Harvey)