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Egypt continues bolstering domestic gas production: Egypt’s state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has agreed with global energy giants Shell and BP to start production at the Harmattan gas field at an initial investment of USD 370 mn, Asharq Business reports, citing a government official it says has knowledge of the matter. The project — expected to produce some 125 mn cubic ft of gas and 3.3k barrels of condensate per day — is slated to be completed by the end of 2025 and commence production in 1Q 2026.
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What we know so far: The Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC) — a JV between BP and EGAS — has completed the preliminary engineering studies for the project. PhPc plans to drill three wells in the area, establish an offshore platform, and develop a 50 km gas pipeline to the onshore processing plan. The firm is currently negotiating to rent a drilling rig and plans on issuing several tenders to provide drilling services and long-term equipment for the development of the area.
Dimming imports, boosting domestic production: Egypt aims to boost natural gas production rates to 5 mn cubic ft per day by the end of the year. It recently agreed with Italian energy giant Eni to resume drilling at the Zohr gas field to increase production by 220 mn cubic ft per day. BP is fast-tracking phase two of Alexandria’s Raven Field, while Apache is boosting both oil and gas output in the Western Desert. Companies like Shell, IPR Energy, and Ades Holding are also contributing to increased production through the development of new wells.
Natgas production in Egypt fell 20-25% over the past two years, yet the government has been planning to resume gas supplies to its Idku plant as early as 4Q 2024. The government is looking to supply Egyptian LNG — a joint venture between EGAS, EGPC, Shell, and Petronas — with some 7.2 mn metric tons of natural gas annually.
High hopes: The government does not want to resort to long-term contracts despite the current favorable prices amid hopes of new natural gas discoveries that could put Egypt once again to the global export map, along with expanding renewable capacities. Egypt halted all LNG exports earlier in May to meet domestic demand, a shift from being an exporter five years ago. Egypt switched to imports back in 2018, although the country’s gas exports were set to double to 4.5 bcm back in 2019.
