The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources revealed on Thursday the signing of 29 agreements in 2023, involving a combined investment of approximately 1.2 billion U.S. dollars for oil and natural gas exploration in the country.
According to the ministry’s statement, exploration efforts in the Western Desert, the Gulf of the Suez, Nile delta, and Sinai Peninsula led to the discovery of 65 new oil and gas sites. Among these, 51 were designated for oil, while the remaining 14 were allocated for gas exploration.
In the course of the year, a total of 87 new wells were drilled as part of these exploration initiatives.
The ministry disclosed that Egypt’s overall petroleum production in 2023 reached about 74 million tons. This comprised 28 million tons of crude oil and condensates, and 45 million tons of natural gas.
Five oil and gas field projects have been officially incorporated into the country’s production portfolio. These projects are designed to achieve a daily production target of 15,000 barrels of crude and condensates, along with approximately 144 million cubic feet of gas.
With ambitions to establish itself as a key regional hub for oil and liquefied natural gas trade, Egypt’s recent exploration successes, notably the discovery of the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean, holding an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, have bolstered its strategic positioning.
