Egypt digs in for oil, gas production in Gulf of Suez

The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry announced an oil exploration at East Gabal El Zeit area in the Gulf of Suez, official news agency MENA reported Saturday.

The new well will produce 1,000 barrels of oil and one million cubic feet of natural gas per day, with initial reserves estimated at about 250 million barrels, according to a report of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tarek El Molla.

British company Vega Petroleum Limited conducted the testing services by drilling 120 feet, the report said.

The daily production if the new well is expected to reach 3,000 barrels.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer in recent years, squeezed by declining production and increasing consumption.

Egypt's domestic gas production is currently about 4.35 billion cubic feet per day against consumption of around 5.2 billion cubic feet, said the oil minister.

However, Egypt is back on track to be a gas exporter soon after a big number of recent discoveries across the country.

On Wednesday, the Petroleum Ministry announced the discovery of new natural gas well in the country's western desert that is expected to produce 20 million cubic feet.

Eni's giant Mediterranean gas field Zohr, discovered in August 2015 with an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, is expected to come online next year and produce about 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day in 2017. Endit