Egypt’s Khalda Petroleum reports new Western Desert gas discovery

Egypt’s Khalda Petroleum has made a new natural gas discovery in the Western Desert that tested at 40 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), the petroleum ministry said on Wednesday.

Production from the Watada deep exploratory well began on Tuesday after drilling was completed to a depth of 15,000 feet and final production tests confirmed output of 40 mmscfd, the ministry said.

The ministry added that the production tests confirmed the discovery’s commercial potential and would support efforts to increase Egypt’s domestic natural gas output.

Khalda also completed a 10-km production pipeline at a cost of $2.3 million, allowing the well to be connected to existing production facilities and accelerating the start of operations.

The final connection to Egypt’s national gas grid is expected to be completed before the end of July, the ministry said.

Khalda Petroleum is a joint venture between Apache Egypt and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and is one of the country’s largest oil and gas producers.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser