Egypt confirms success of East Crystal-1 Well in Gulf of Suez

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum announced on Wednesday the success of drilling operations at the exploratory well East Crystal-1 in the Gulf of Suez, carried out by UAE’s Dragon Oil through the joint operating company GUPCO.

Preliminary tests from the 16-foot-thick Hawara formation have shown a daily production of over 2,000 barrels of crude oil. The main artificial lift systems (ASL) formation, which exceeds 100 feet in thickness, remains untested, Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry announced on Wednesday.

GUPCO plans to continue developing the discovery by drilling two additional wells, which are expected to add over 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day. This discovery is part of Egypt’s strategy to increase local oil and gas production, aiming to reduce import costs.

The new well, located in the integrated concession area of the Gulf of Suez, has confirmed the pre-drilling reserves of around 8 million barrels, with projections to exceed this amount.

The East Crystal-1 well is the second successful exploratory well drilled using the advanced Ocean Bottom Node (OBN) seismic survey technology, following the success of the “S. El-Wasl-1” well.

This find is considered a positive sign for the revival of production from mature fields, especially in the Gulf of Suez, and demonstrates the potential for new discoveries through the application of modern technologies after a natural decline in production over the years.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: M. S. Salama