Egypt Daily News – The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced that Egypt’s petroleum sector successfully made a new oil discovery in the Abu Sinan area of the Western Desert. The Salmiya-5 well has been added to the production map with an output equivalent to 4,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 18 million cubic feet of gas per day, at a depth of 14,400 feet.
Recently, Italian company Eni also announced the discovery of a new oil well in the Gulf of Suez, with an initial output of 5,000 barrels per day. This discovery is part of several discoveries Egypt has seen in recent years, which have encouraged foreign oil companies to invest in Egypt.
Egypt’s petroleum sector has made significant progress. Eni recently discovered a major new well in Egypt’s Western Desert, dug near existing infrastructure and producing 5,500 barrels per day. This discovery is considered one of the key factors pushing Egypt’s oil and gas sector into its “golden era.”
For the first time in history, these new discoveries have helped Egypt pay off a large part of its debts to foreign oil companies, which in turn has attracted major international petroleum investors to the Egyptian market.
Highlights of Egypt’s Recent Oil & Gas Discoveries:
- Zohr (supergiant gas field)
- Atoll
- Noroos
- West Delta Deep Marine
- 2025 gas discoveries:
- Nour North Mediterranean Block (March)
- Qar’a Delta Nile Block (July)
Egypt also held two major bidding rounds in 2018 for oil and gas exploration, which were awarded to global companies like:
- ExxonMobil
- Shell
- BP
- Eni
In March 2025, Egypt launched another bidding round for exploration in the Red Sea.
Egypt achieved self-sufficiency in natural gas in September 2018 after increasing output and continues to upgrade refineries to achieve self-sufficiency in petroleum products. Egypt has committed to repaying all overdue debts to foreign partners by the end of 2019, and is working to become a regional hub for gas trade.
