Egypt secures $340 million in deals to expand gas and oil exploration

Egypt has signed four agreements with international energy firms valued at over $340 million to expand oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta, the country’s Petroleum Ministry announced on August 30.

The first deal, with oil giant Shell, is worth $120 million and covers three wells in the Mediterranean’s Merneith offshore area, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Italy’s Eni signed a $100 million agreement to drill three wells in the East Port Said offshore block.

A third agreement, worth $109 million, went to Arcius Energy, a joint venture 51 per cent owned by BP and 49 per cent by ADNOC’s investment arm XRG, to operate in the North Damietta offshore area.

Egypt, once a regional exporter of natural gas, has increasingly relied on imports to meet domestic demand as production from ageing fields declines and investment in new fields has lagged.

According to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI), Egypt’s gas output dropped to 3,545 million cubic metres in May, representing a decline of more than 40% compared to March 2021.

On August 29, the Petroleum Ministry revealed that two new wells in the deepwater West Delta have begun production, adding around 60 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of natural gas to Egypt’s supply.

The new output includes 50 mcfd from the Sapphire South Central DP well, the third drilled under phase 11 of the West Delta Deep Marine development with Shell’s investment, and 10 mcfd from the Scarab D4 well, which was restored after years offline.

By Tamilla Hasanova