Egypt plans to invest $1.8 billion (£55.62 billion) to drill new gas wells as part of offshore exploration in the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile Delta, the official UAE news agency WAM reported, citing the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources from countries, Tarek El Molla.
The offshore exploration program involves several international companies, including Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell and bp. It aims to drill 35 exploratory gas wells by July 2025.
For fiscal 2023/2024, the program will include the drilling of 21 wells, while a further 14 wells are planned for fiscal 2024/2025.
Addressed to WAM On the sidelines of an Opec international seminar in Vienna, Austria, El Molla said the country planned to boost its gas production capacity by developing several exploration fields in the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert.
Molla stated that the Egyptian oil sector and its international partners have discovered 284 new fields over the last five years.
These new fields, which include 217 oil wells and 67 gas wells, have added around 1.32 billion barrels of oil equivalent to the country's reserves.
Molla noted, "The Egyptian government has decided to accelerate its transition to clean energy in the power sector, so that renewable energy capacity should contribute 42% of electricity capacity by 2035."
Earlier this year, Eni and its partners make a new gas discovery in the eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Egypt, following the drilling of the Nargis-1 exploration well.
The well is located in the Nargis Offshore Area concession, which covers an area of around 445,000 acres.