In a release sent to Rigzone by the BP team recently, BP revealed that it had made a discovery offshore Egypt.

The company outlined in the release that it “encountered two prospective Messinian reservoirs at a measured depth of approximately 2,400 meters” at the El King-2 exploration well, which is situated in the North King Mariout Offshore Concession.

Rigzone asked BP for more information on these reservoirs. A company spokesperson was unable to comment.

BP highlighted in the release that the well was spudded on January 14, 2025, by the Valaris DS-12 rig, and is part of the company’s West Nile Delta (WND) four-slot drilling campaign. The company noted that, upon completion of drilling the El King-2 well, the DS-12 rig will move to drill the Fayoum-5 exploration well in the North Alexandria concession.

“This discovery further underscores our continued commitment to explore and appraise for gas resources that support Egypt’s energy security and economic growth,” Nader Zaki, BP Regional President for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the release.

“With our existing infrastructure, execution capabilities and strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Petroleum, we are well-positioned to fast-track the development of this discovery and contribute timely to the domestic market needs,” Zaki added.

BP Egypt VP Wail Shaheen said in the release, “we are focused on maximizing production from existing resources, exploring new opportunities, and leveraging our existing infrastructure to support gas supply that meets growing domestic demand while strengthening Egypt’s position as a key energy partner in the region”.

BP states on its website that it takes pride in its long-standing history in Egypt, adding that it has “operated successfully in Egypt for almost 60 years” and invested “more than $35 billion during that time”.

The WND development is listed as a “major gas project” on BP’s site, which highlights that this development includes five gas fields and is BP’s first operated asset in the country.

“‎The WND is currently producing close to one billion cubic feet per day from the combined WND fields,” BP notes on its site.

“The ‎approximately $9 billion development is a testament to BP’s long-term commitment ‎to Egypt as it represents an important contribution to meeting Egypt’s growing energy ‎needs by providing a cost-competitive and resilient gas supply from the country’s own ‎resources,” the company adds.

BP has an 82.75 percent stake in the WND development and Wintershall ‎Dea holds the remaining 17.25 percent interest, BP’s site shows.

Last month, an ExxonMobil spokesperson told Rigzone that Exxon “safely completed drilling of the Nefertari 1 well in the North Marakia Block with the Valaris DS 9 drillship”.

“Gas bearing reservoirs were encountered, and we will continue to evaluate the results,” the spokesperson added.

The North Marakia Offshore block is located approximately five miles offshore Egypt’s northern coast in the Herodotus basin, an Exxon release posted on the company’s website back in December 2019 highlighted.

According to the Energy Institute’s (EI) latest statistical review of world energy, which was released last June, Egypt produced 57.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2023. That figure marked an 11.5 percent year on year drop and 1.4 percent of global natural gas production in 2023, the review showed. From 2013 to 2023, Egypt’s natural gas production has increased by an average of 0.6 percent every year, the review outlined.

Egypt’s natural gas consumption in 2023 came in at 60.0 billion cubic meters, according to the review, which highlighted that this was down 0.9 percent year on year and 1.5 percent of global natural gas demand in 2023. From 2013 to 2023, Egypt’s natural gas demand has increased by an average of 1.9 percent every year, the review outlined.

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