Output from BP’s West Nile Delta gas fields to hit 700 mcf/d in April
BP’s Egyptian Giza and Fayoum fields, part of its West Nile Delta Development, are expected to hit 700 million cubic feet of gas per day by April, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla said on Monday.
BP announced earlier on Monday that the second stage of the West Nile Delta had begun production. It said output at several fields in the area would help push production to almost 1.4 billion cubic feet per day this year.
In a statement issued on Monday by BP, its chief executive Bob Dudley said that the important project start-up benefitted from the excellent working relationship between BP and the Egyptian government.
“With the second stage of West Nile Delta now online, BP has now safely brought 21 new upstream major projects into production over the last three years, keeping us on track to deliver 900 000 boe/d by 2021.” He added.
The West Nile Delta development includes a total of five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks.
It was originally planned as two separate projects, but BP said in its statement that it and its partners realised the opportunity to deliver it in three stages, accelerating delivery of gas production commitments to Egypt.
Stage one of the project, which started producing in 2017, included gas production from the first two fields, Taurus and Libra.
The Giza and Fayoum development, which includes eight wells, is currently producing around 400 million sft3/d and is expected to ramp up to a maximum rate of approximately 700 million sft3/d.
The third stage of the West Nile Delta project will develop the Raven field. Production is expected in late 2019.
When fully onstream in 2019, combined production from all three phases of the West Nile Delta project is expected to reach up to almost 1.4 billion ft3/d, equivalent to about 20 percent of Egypt’s current gas production. All the gas produced will be fed into the national gas grid.
BP has an operating stake of 82.75 percent in the development.
The start-up announced today in Egypt is the second major project for BP in 2019, following the Gulf of Mexico’s Constellation development, which BP has a 66.6 percent non-operated stake in.
Source: Reuters & Ahram Online
