Companies operating in Egypt continue to make oil and gas discoveries and drill new wells at the start of the year, further boosting hydrocarbon production as the North African country looks to reduce import dependence.
Several companies have drilled successful wells in the Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and the Nile Delta, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said on Friday.
The new wells are expected to add around 47 million cubic feet of natural gas and about 4,300 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and condensates to Egypt’s daily hydrocarbon production.
Khalda Petroleum Company, a joint venture between Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Apache Corporation, has made three new oil and gas discoveries. In addition, Desouq Petroleum Company, in partnership with Harbour Energy, successfully drilled the appraisal well Ez-2 in the Desouq development area in the Nile Delta.
State-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Company also brought new wells into production in both the Western and Eastern deserts, raising Egypt’s daily output by around 8 million cubic feet of gas and more than 1,250 bpd of oil and condensates.
Earlier this week, Egypt announced discoveries at four exploration wells in the Western Desert. The four exploration wells are expected to have a combined daily production capacity of nearly 4,500 barrels of crude oil and 2.6 million cubic feet of natural gas.
At the end of last year, Egypt said it plans to drill 480 new exploratory oil wells over the next five years, in an ambitious $5.7 billion wager that the country can claw its way back from years of production decline.
A total of 101 wells are slated for drilling in 2026, spread across Egypt’s main producing regions.
After four years of declines, Egypt’s oil and gas production started to rise in September, providing much-needed relief to the import bill of the North African country.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- Azerbaijan Begins Gas Deliveries to Germany and Austria
- Germany Relaunches Major EV Subsidy Program With Billions in Funding
- Low Oil Prices Force Billionaire Harold Hamm to Halt Bakken Drilling
