Independent E&P outfit Apex International Energy has opened offices in Cairo and Houston, Texas, the company said in a statement (pdf), and is now on the hunt for assets. Backed by global private equity outfit Warburg Pincus, Apex “plans to build an exploration and production business of scale through asset acquisitions and capital investment.” Roger Plank, Apex’s founder and chief executive, notes that “With significant funding in place and the launch of our two offices … we have made Egypt our top priority place to invest and are actively involved in the current concession bidding round and evaluating a number of interesting acquisition opportunities.” Chief operating officer Tom Maher added that Apex is “present on the ground with local and growing teams in Cairo and Houston, two of the most important cities in the global oil and gas industry. We are currently working closely with government and local third parties in Egypt as we take an active role in developing our business.” Warburg Pincus has more than USD 40 bn in private equity AUM and a portfolio of over 120 companies.