Oil Ministry targets 14 Mediterranean exploration wells with up to 12 tcf of potential gas reserves

The Oil Ministry is targeting 14 new exploration wells in the Mediterranean by the end of the fiscal year with potential reserves of up to 12 tcf of gas, two government officials tell EnterpriseAM. The wells are part of a wider 101-well campaign with international companies, and they’re timed to line up with the first phase of a new offshore seismic survey, which starts in November.

Where the rigs are going: The Western Desert gets the bulk of the drilling with 67 of the 101 wells. Next come 14 offshore in the Mediterranean, nine in the Gulf of Suez, six in the Nile Delta, and five in the Eastern Desert. The program is part of a USD 5.7 bn plan to drill 480 exploration wells over five years, which the ministry has since expanded to 580 wells through 2030. The goal is to reach self-sufficiency in petroleum products by 2029 and stop importing them altogether by 2030, under the plan agreed with the government, one of the government officials tells EnterpriseAM. The Western Desert accounts for about 18% of Egypt’s crude output and still holds promising undiscovered reserves, the source says.

Who’s drilling what: Arcius Energy, BP’s joint venture with Adnoc’s XRG, plans to drill the North 6 and Atoll wells, the latter in the North Damietta concession it fully owns. Shell is preparing a well in its Merneith concession, the officials say. ExxonMobil plans to start drilling in its Cairo concession in 1Q 2027, they add. The company had been eyeing a 1Q 2026 start as of early last year.

The survey should help pick the next round of drilling targets. It will cover some 18k sq km in its first phase, the ministry said in a statement. It uses ocean bottom node (OBN) technology, which places sensors directly on the seafloor for clearer images of the rock below. State gas company Egas is running the program with a consortium of SLB and Viridien, which secured the tender last year to survey up to 95k sq km of Egyptian waters in three phases over seven years. The first phase carries a USD 117 mn price tag. Once processed, the data will be turned into investment prospects to pitch to international companies, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said.

The ships are already arriving. The Commander survey vessel has docked at Port Said, and two more vessels will join it. Work starts in two areas, Denise off Port Said and Ras El Bar, and runs there through the end of 2026, while the consortium lines up the next round of work for 2027, according to the statement.

IN CONTEXT- The urgency is straightforward. Domestic gas output fell from nearly 59 bcm in 2023 to 42 bcm in 2025, down 29%, while crude output slipped about 10%. Gas imports cost USD 7.9 bn last year and USD 2.5 bn in 1Q 2026 alone, and the bill is set to rise 26% this fiscal year — the government wants to cut it by around USD 500 mn a month, the two officials say. Adding about 90 mn barrels to crude production could cut the crude import bill by USD 1.5-2.3 bn a year, one official says, though higher gas prices have pushed more reliance on mazut for power generation in the meantime.

And the clock is ticking on existing fields. They lose around 120 mmcf / d of output a month to natural decline, and the five wells due online in October should add only about 100 mmcf / d, as we reported in August.

Meleiha is already delivering: Eni, through its Agiba joint venture with EGPC, has started up Phase 2 of the Meleiha gas treatment plant in the Western Desert, according to a ministry statement. Phase 2 includes development wells, gathering networks, and a new gas export line, and it lets the plant process up to 100 mmscf / d. Total output from the area is expected to reach about 125 mmscf / d this fiscal year.

Successful exploration could add 1.5-2 bcf / d to domestic production over the next three years, bringing output back toward roughly 7 bcf / d, one of the officials says — with the Mediterranean alone expected to lift offshore output to about 2 bcf / d from 1.5 bcf / d.