Arcius Energy takes FID for Egypt's Harmattan gas field

Arcius Energy, the bp and XRG joint venture focused on Egypt gas development, has announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) to develop the Harmattan gas field in the El Burg Offshore concession area, one of the joint venture’s first projects in Egypt

The investment, estimated at around US$500mn, aims to increase natural gas production to meet domestic market needs and follows hard on the heels of Arcius’s acquisition of the El Burg Offshore concession area in February 2026, which lies approximately 2.5 km north of Ras El-Barr in Damietta. Arcius plans to develop the field through drilling of up to three wells and the installation of a fixed offshore platform, connected by a 50-km pipeline to onshore processing facilities located near Port Said. Expected start-up of production is in 2028. The project aims to produce approximately 150mn cubic feet of gas and 3,300 barrels of condensates daily.

Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC), acting on behalf of El Burg Offshore Petroleum Company, has awarded the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) contract to ENPPI, with Petroleum Marine Services and Petrojet as subcontractors.

Naser Al Yafei, chief executive officer of Arcius, commented, “The Final Investment Decision to develop the Harmattan field marks an important milestone in advancing one of our first projects in Egypt toward production. It reflects our confidence in the potential of Egypt’s energy sector and our commitment to close cooperation with the Egyptian government, EGAS, and our execution partners to strengthen Egypt’s natural gas supply, support energy security, and reinforce Egypt’s position as a regional energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Arcius Energy was established in December 2024 as a regional gas platform focused initially on the development of gas assets in Egypt and the wider Eastern Mediterranean, with bp holding 51% and XRG, ADNOC’s international investment arm, holding 49%. It holds 10% of Shorouk which contains the producing Zohr field; 100% of North Damietta which contains the producing Atoll and Qattameya fields; 100% of El Burg Offshore which contains the Harmattan field; 100% of the North El Tabya exploration concession, and 50% of the Bellatrix–Seti East and North El Fayrouz exploration concessions.

The agreement, signed at the Egypt Energy Show held in Cairo from 30 March-1 April, comes as Egypt is pushing to boost its oil and gas production in a bid to reverse recent declines and reduce energy imports. Recent discoveries are helping to achieve this aim, and there are plans to drill 480 new exploration wells over the next five years at a cost of around US$5.7bn.

On the sidelines of the Egypt Energy Show, majors such as bp, Chevron and Eni confirmed their commitment to make further investments in the market, acknowledging the efforts made by the Egyptian government to improve the investment environment. bp, which was recently awarded the licence for the North-east Alamein Offshore concession, signed an agreement with South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) to carry out exploration in the Red Sea.

“We are excited about bringing the drillship, Valaris DS-12, back to Egypt to embark on a multi-well campaign to produce, develop and explore for more gas resources,” said William Lin, executive vice president for Gas and Low Carbon Energy in a LinkedIn post.

Also signed at the Egypt Energy Show was an MoU between slb and Ganope to design and deploy cost-effective geophysical solutions that derisk exploration and unlock new resource potential in the Red Sea.