Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Egypt’s energy sector has marked another strategic breakthrough after Italy’s Eni and the UK’s BP announced a new natural gas discovery in the Nile Delta, highlighting both the country’s ongoing exploration momentum and the growing role of advanced drilling technologies in unlocking offshore resources from onshore locations.
The discovery, made in the West Abu Madi area of Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, was achieved through the Nidoco N-2 exploratory well, which was drilled using high-precision directional drilling techniques that allowed operators to reach offshore reserves while conducting operations entirely from land.
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the gas reservoir lies approximately three kilometers offshore in shallow waters, but the use of modern drilling methods eliminated the need for a traditional offshore platform, reducing both operational costs and environmental footprint while improving efficiency.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the well is expected to produce around 50 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, adding a meaningful boost to Egypt’s domestic energy supply at a time when the country continues to prioritize expanding local production and reducing reliance on imports.
Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi visited the EDC-56 drilling rig responsible for the operation, where he described the discovery as part of a broader acceleration in upstream activity driven by improved cooperation between the government and international energy partners.
He said the result reflects not only the success of ongoing exploration programs but also the impact of efforts to settle outstanding financial dues owed to foreign companies operating in Egypt’s energy sector.
According to the minister, the government is working toward fully clearing arrears to international partners by the end of June, a move he said has already encouraged greater investment in drilling, production expansion, and field development activities.
Officials emphasized that the new discovery is strategically significant because of its proximity to existing production infrastructure, located less than two kilometers away, allowing for rapid connection to pipelines and the possibility of starting production within a matter of weeks rather than years.
This close integration with established facilities is expected to reduce development time and accelerate the flow of gas into Egypt’s national grid, strengthening domestic supply at a time of rising energy demand.
The Ministry of Petroleum highlighted that the project demonstrates how Egypt is increasingly leveraging existing infrastructure assets to maximize output from mature fields and nearby exploration zones, rather than relying solely on entirely new offshore developments.
Eni, which operates the West Abu Madi development area in partnership with BP and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation through Petrobel, has played a central role in Egypt’s offshore and delta exploration success over recent years.
The company’s continued activity in the region reflects a broader pattern of sustained international interest in Egypt’s Mediterranean and Nile Delta basins, which have become key hubs for natural gas exploration and production in the Eastern Mediterranean.
For Egypt, the latest discovery reinforces a dual objective: strengthening domestic energy security while positioning the country as a regional gas producer capable of balancing local demand with export potential in the long term.
As drilling technology continues to evolve and partnerships with global energy firms deepen, the Nile Delta is once again proving to be one of the most strategically important energy zones in Egypt’s wider hydrocarbons landscape.
