Advanced drilling technologies facilitate new Egypt discovery

The drilling of an offshore exploration well from onshore using advanced directional drilling technologies has resulted in a new gas discovery offshore Egypt

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced a new natural gas discovery in the Nile Delta region, with estimated production rates of around 50 Mmcf/d. The discovery follows the successful drilling of the exploratory well (Nidoco N-2) within the West Madi concession area, operated by Italy's Eni in partnership with the UK's bp and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, through Petrobel, the joint company between EGPC and Eni.

 Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, visited the EDC-56 drilling rig, which executed the well operations in the West Abu Madi area in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. The well is located approximately 3 km offshore in shallow waters with a depth of around 10 m. The well was drilled from onshore using state-of-the-art directional drilling technologies, contributing to cost optimisation and enhanced operational efficiency.

This is in line with the government’s focus on bringing in and localising modern technologies that contribute to increasing petroleum and gas productivity while reducing time and cost, in co-operation with leading service companies, drilling and technology solution providers, and production partners. The Minister in February announced that the petroleum sector is accelerating the implementation of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, which enable access to oil and gas resources that are difficult to exploit through conventional methods, with the aim of increasing oil and gas production rates within the sector's five-year plan.

The Minister said that this discovery, alongside increased production from existing fields, reflects the Petroleum Sector's success in settling dues owed to foreign partners, with full clearance targeted by the end of June, highlighting the state's commitment to strengthening partner confidence and fostering an attractive investment environment. He added that the regular settlement of dues has encouraged partners to intensify upstream activities, increase drilling and production rates, and expand the development of mature fields by extending agreement periods that helped attract new investments to these areas.

Situated less than 2 km away from the nearest production facilities, the well's proximity to existing infrastructure enables rapid connection to the network within the coming weeks and the start of early production, enhancing capital efficiency.

The Minister also noted that the discovery represents a model for maximising the utilisation of existing infrastructure, increasing production rates, and supporting gas supply to the domestic market. It also highlights Eni's continued success in exploration and production activities across its concession areas.

The new discovery follows Eni’s gas and condensate discovery in the Temsah concession in the Eastern Mediterranean in April, with preliminary estimates of about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 130 million barrels of associated condensates. The Denise W discovery lies 70 km offshore in 95 m of water depth and less than 10 km from existing infrastructure, offering potential for a fast-track development.

The Egyptian government is encouraging investment and incentivising exploration and production to reverse years of decline and reduce energy imports, a drive which is being given additional impetus by the current situation in the Middle East. These efforts seem to be paying off, with a number of promising discoveries being made recently.