In what marks one of the most ambitious natural gas exploration campaigns in the region’s history, Egypt is preparing to drill 14 exploratory wells across the Mediterranean Sea in 2026, targeting approximately 12 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi announced the groundbreaking initiative during the inaugural episode of the ministry’s podcast PetroCast, signaling a major turning point for the country’s energy sector.
The announcement comes as Egypt w’rks to reverse years of declining production that began in 2021, when gas output peaked at 6.6 billion cubic feet per day before sliding to around 4 billion cubic feet by mid-2024. Badawi emphasized that the government’s commitment to paying monthly dues to foreign partners has already begun bearing fruit, with September output climbing to 4.2 billion cubic feet per day. The country now aims to restore production to between 6.4 and 6.6 billion cubic feet per day within the next five years.
Major international oil companies are backing Egypt’s resurgence with substantial financial commitments. Eni and bp have jointly pledged $13 billion in exploration and production investments over the next four to five years, demonstrating renewed confidence in Egypt’s petroleum sector. The minister noted that these investments have already helped the country save $3.4 billion worth of imports while overcoming the natural decline in gas production.
Oil production is also stabilizing after recent volatility, according to Badawi. Output had fallen from 600,000 barrels per day to 540,000 barrels per day by February, but new drilling and development activities in the Western Desert and Gulf of Suez are now gaining momentum. In September, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation signed three exploration deals worth more than $121 million with Perenco, UAE Dragon, and US Apache to explore for oil and gas across multiple regions including the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, and North Sinai.
Source: egyptoil-gas.com