Shell’s Egyptian arm has discovered natural gas offshore of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea at the North-East El-Ammiya block.
Shell conducted a drill in offshore Nile Delta in 250-meter-deep water, with the initial data indicating the presence of a reservoir bearing gas. Shell went on to say in a news release that the data needed to be analysed further, before the recoverable potential and scale of its discovery could be established.
Khaled Kacem, the country chair and a vice president of Shell Egypt, said the discovery was a significant development in:
“…bolstering our growth aspirations and ongoing commitment as a key partner in Egypt’s energy landscape. [The] successful delivery of our current exploration campaign is part of Shell Egypt’s growth strategy. Shell, together with its partners, will continue to work towards safely reaching the development phase of the block.”
Shell has had a presence in Egypt for over a century. It currently has exploration and upstream operations, along with distributing its lubricant and grease range. It also operates the ELNG terminal in Idku together with its partners, which includes Petronas of Malaysia, EGAS and EGPC of Egypt, and TotalEnergies of France.
The Stena Forth rig, an offshore mobile drilling unit provided by Stena Drilling, has been contracted by Shell to carry out the drilling campaign.
Shell holds a 60% share in the North-East El-Amriya block, and is the designated operator. The remaining 40% is held by Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, which acquired the stake in September as part of a farm out agreement.
