Egypt’s Western Desert Delivers Major Oil Discovery as Advanced Drilling Technology Unlocks Deep Reserves

Egypt’s Western Desert Delivers Major Oil Discovery as Advanced Drilling Technology Unlocks Deep Reserves

Egypt’s Western Desert has yielded a significant new oil and gas discovery that will add approximately 3,100 barrels of oil equivalent daily to national production, marking a breakthrough achievement using cutting-edge horizontal drilling technology.

The North Lotus Deep-1 exploration well will contribute about 1,835 barrels of crude oil per day and 7 million cubic feet of natural gas daily, with estimated reserves of approximately 5 million barrels of oil equivalent. The well, operated by Agiba Petroleum Company—a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Italy’s Eni—has already entered production. This discovery follows Agiba’s historic achievement of drilling the first deep horizontal well in the challenging Masajid reservoir, one of the most geologically complex formations at depths exceeding 11,000 feet. The advanced horizontal drilling technology delivered a sixfold increase in production rates compared to conventional vertical wells, adding approximately 7 million cubic feet of gas and 550 barrels of oil equivalent daily from this previously difficult-to-access formation.

Tharwat El Gendy, Agiba’s chairman, revealed that the company invested $404 million in 2024/2025, maintaining stable production rates with an average output exceeding 26,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 77 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, totaling more than 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. Francesco Gaspari, President of Eni’s subsidiary International Egyptian Oil Company, expressed confidence in the Western Desert’s exceptional potential and affirmed the company’s commitment to expanding projects in this promising region.

Source: egyptoil-gas.com