Yunus Kemp
This follows the discovery, announced in January, in the Nargis Offshore Area Concession which added reserves of 2.5 trillion cubic feet. The discovery is located in the Eastern Mediterranean off the Egyptian coast.
The Narges 1 well was drilled to a depth of 309 metres and has an estimated volume of reserves amounting to 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, the Egyptian government said.
“This has contributed to the interest of a number of international companies to develop the field and work on more explorations the government said.
“This has contributed to the interest of a number of international companies to develop the field and work on more explorations the government said.
The discovery of the new gas field comes at a time when Egypt is seeking to increase its gas reserves and exports for which demand has grown worldwide.
Egypt expects to produce about eight million tons of liquified natural gas (LNG) this year, in line with production rates of 2022, with more production expected in the coming years backed by new discoveries.
The country increased its LNG exports by 14% in 2022 compared to 2021 to reach 7.5 million tons of LNG, with around 80% delivered to EU markets.
This was to fill the gap left by the drop in Russian gas and EU plans to transition away from Russian supplies.
Tarek El-Molla, Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, said during 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, a total of 35 exploratory wells will be drilled with $1.5 billion in investments.
The plan encompasses the drilling of the 10 wells between July 2022 and June 2023 after the Nargis discovery.
He said that there is another plan to drill 25 wells in the Zohr Field area to increase the field capacity, which reached 2.2 billion cubic metres per day.
Meanwhile, BP is planning to invest $3.5bn in the exploration and development of natural gas resources in Egypt over the next three years.
The company's plans include drilling four natural gas wells in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This includes two in the Raven offshore field in the north Alexandria and west Mediterranean deepwater and two in the King Mariout Offshore and west Abu Qir areas.
