It was a Wednesday abuzz with energy news, between Zohr going back online to fresh oil discoveries.

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DRILLING IN ZOHR RESUMES-

Eni resumes drilling in Zohr: Italian energy giant Eni has resumed drilling operations at the Zohr gas field — Egypt’s largest and the Mediterranean’s largest-ever find — after the Saipem drillship arrived in Egyptian waters on Tuesday, the Oil Ministry said in a statement yesterday. Drilling activity is expected to proceed through 1Q 2025.

We knew this was coming: Oil Minister Karim Badawi last October said that drilling at the Zohr field would resume before the end of 2024. At the time he said that the government aims to increase production at the gas field by 220 mn cubic feet per day through drilling.

Remember: Production at the field declined from a peak of 2.8 bn cubic feet per day in 3Q 2021 to below 2.0 bn cf/d in 1H 2024.

DRAGON OIL STRIKES OIL-

UAE’s Dragon Oil struck oil at the East Crystal-1 exploratory well in the Gulf of Suez, the Oil Ministry said in a statement. Initial tests show output exceeding 2k barrels per day, while a formation with over 100 ft depth of potential reserves remains untested. The find locks in an 8 mn barrel pre-drill estimate, with potential for higher yield.

And there’s more to come: The Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO), which has taken over drilling activity, plans to drill two more wells, looking to add around 5k barrels per day to output, according to the statement.

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