Egypt announces new Western Desert gas discoveries

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced on February 12 a series of new discoveries in the Western Desert, expected to add 34mn cubic feet of natural gas per day and 5,200 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and condensates, Economy Plus reported. 

The development comes as part of efforts to offset natural decline from mature fields and reduce the country’s import bill.

Egyptian Khalda Petroleum Company, a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Apache Corporation (NSQ: APA), achieved two new gas discoveries. The first, North Obra–2 in the Matrouh development area, delivered test production rates of 21.15mn cubic feet of gas per day alongside 3,274 barrels of condensate. The well is scheduled to be connected to production by mid-February 2026.

The second discovery, West Dabaa–2x in the West Dabaa concession, recorded 4.15mn cubic feet of gas per day and 336 barrels of condensate during testing, with procedures underway to tie the well into the production network.

In parallel, the General Petroleum Company brought a new oil discovery, GPD-1X, in the Sennan development area online with output of 625 bpd. Petro Farah and partner United Energy (HKEX: 0467) also reported initial test results of 647 bpd from the SEMR D-3X well, pending final development agreements.

Ajiba Petroleum, a joint venture between EGPC and Eni (BIT: ENI), said its Nada-NE-4 well is expected to add around 340 bpd of oil and 9mn cubic feet of gas per day once fully operational.