A view of a gas plant seen from the desert road of Suez outside Cairo, Egypt. Credit Reuters
By Xinhua News Agency
Egypt is planning to drill 35 new natural gas wells in the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile Delta in the next two fiscal years to boost its natural gas production, the Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement on Tuesday.
The country already drilled ten natural gas wells during the fiscal year 2022-2023, which ended on June 30, 2023, the statement quoted Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla as saying.
The offshore drillings have made a number of discoveries, including the finding of the Nargis-1 exploration well in the eastern Mediterranean, which holds about 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, it added.
El-Molla said Egypt plans to drill 35 new wells for the next two fiscal years, with an investment of more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.
On Monday, the Egyptian presidency announced in a statement that the energy giant BP will invest 3.5 billion dollars in Egypt along with its partners in the next three years.
It came after a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and BP’s CEO Bernard Looney.
Egypt aims to become a regional trade hub for oil and liquefied natural gas after major discoveries were made in the country over recent years, including the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.