Egypt announces new natural gas discovery in Western Sahara
On Saturday, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum announced a new gas discovery in the Western Desert.
The ministry said in a statement that the new gas discovery was made in the Badr-15 area in the Western Desert through one of the wells there.
The newly discovered well has been put on the production map at a rate of 16 million cubic feet of gas and 750 barrels of condensate per day.
The statement added that 15 billion cubic feet of gas are expected to be added to the reserves from this discovery.
These results are part of the investment stimulus measures implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum with the aim of gradually increasing production and reducing imports”, according to the statement.
On Friday, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said in remarks quoted by the country’s official agency that the ministry aims to reach gas production to 6 billion and 400 million and even 6 billion and 600 million cubic feet per day over the next five years, supported by major investments from international companies.
He explained that the year 2026 will witness the drilling of 14 exploration wells in the Mediterranean Sea, with targeted reserves of about 12 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the same source.
The Egyptian minister said that domestic production of gas and oil has witnessed a decline since 2021 due to the decline in investments, but work to stimulate partners and improve the investment environment has resulted in a halt in the decline and a return to the upward path.
He explained that gas production reached the lowest level of 4020 million cubic feet per day in 2021 to 4700 million cubic feet in June 2024, then fell to the lowest level of 4020 million cubic feet, before starting to rise again to reach 4200 million cubic feet last September.
