Egypt announces new oil discovery in Gulf of Suez, amid rising energy demands

Egypt has made a new oil discovery in the Gulf of Suez region, giving it more energy reserves and drilling opportunities amid rising domestic and foreign demand.

According to Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry today, the company, Cheiron, made the new oil discovery in the Geisum and Tawila West Concession in the Gulf of Suez through exploration well GNN-11. It is the fourth well to be completed in the area, with another three wells set to be drilled in order to continue the current exploration phase.

The GNN field reportedly holds significant promise, with its total output reaching around 23,000 barrels per day, in comparison to the 4,000 barrels per day prior to the development of the field. Cheiron currently holds a 60 per cent working interest in the concession, with the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) holding the remaining 40 per cent stake.

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According to Cheiron, the “new Nubia discovery confirms the exploration potential in the northern area of the concession”. It added that “the discovery also demonstrates that while the Gulf of Suez is a relatively mature hydrocarbon province, it still has significant remaining exploration potential.”

The discovery comes at a time when Egypt has been seeking to boost its energy production and reserves, particularly the production of natural gas in order to meet the rising energy demands from the domestic front and for exports to Europe.

Last year, the value of Egypt’s natural gas exports reached $8.4 billion, an increase of 171 per cent from the previous year. In December last year, Egypt also discovered a large gas field off its north-eastern Mediterranean coastline, possessing potential reserves of 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.