Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced a new natural gas discovery in the Nile Delta, with the Nidoco N-2 exploratory well projected to produce 50 million cubic feet of gas per day — the latest in a string of finds that the government attributes directly to its successful strategy of settling long-standing dues owed to foreign exploration partners.
The Nidoco N-2 well, located in the West Abu Madi area, was drilled from an onshore location using advanced extended reach directional drilling technology, reaching approximately three kilometres offshore into shallow waters of around ten metres depth. The technique significantly reduced operational costs and improved efficiency compared with deploying an offshore rig. The well is co-operated by Italy’s Eni and the UK’s BP in partnership with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation through Petrobel, the joint venture between Eni and EGPC.
Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi, who inspected the EDC 56 drilling rig that carried out the operations, said the discovery is a direct product of the sector’s accelerating programme to repay outstanding dues to international partners — a strategy the government aims to complete by the end of June. Regular debt settlements have encouraged partners to intensify exploration commitments, increase production rates, and expand development of mature fields. “The regular settlement of arrears has encouraged partners to intensify exploration and drilling activities, increase production rates, and expand the development of mature fields,” Badawi said.
A key operational advantage of the Nidoco N-2 discovery is its proximity to existing production infrastructure — the well sits less than two kilometres from the nearest facilities, enabling a rapid grid connection within weeks and early production at minimal additional capital cost. Badawi described this as a model for maximising the efficiency of existing infrastructure while accelerating supply to Egypt’s domestic gas market. The West Abu Madi development area continues to demonstrate the value of Eni’s sustained exploration commitment across its Egyptian concession portfolio.
Source: Egypt Oil & Gas