Monday 13 Jan
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced that BP has successfully completed drilling and well completion operations for two additional wells at the Riffan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea. This was achieved using the drilling rig "Volaris DS12," which began operations in the second half of 2024.
Engineer Karim Badawy, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, conducted an inspection tour of the "Volaris DS12" drilling rig on July 20, 2024, accompanied by a number of petroleum sector leaders, to assess the progress of drilling operations. This will pave the way for the commencement of gas production from the new wells in February 2025, three months ahead of schedule, thanks to an accelerated drilling and installation plan.
Following the successful
completion of drilling at the Riffan field, the "Volaris DS12"
drilling rig will now move to the King area, operated by BP in the
Mediterranean, to initiate exploratory drilling. This drilling targets the
lower Miocene formation in search of natural gas and is expected to reach the
reservoir by the end of February 2025.
The King exploration area is
strategically located near BP's existing facilities and offshore pipelines
within the West Nile Delta project. A successful exploration will allow for the
rapid connection of the well to existing production facilities, enabling the
addition of new gas volumes to production. This aligns with the Ministry's
strategy to enhance domestic gas production.
The exploratory drilling in the King area reflects the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources' increased focus on offshore drilling activities in the Mediterranean Sea over the past six months. This period has seen significant activity, including Chevron's drilling operations at the "Khanjar-1" well, ExxonMobil's drilling at the "Nefertari-1" well, BP's successful completion of two development wells at the "Riffan" field, and Eni's recent resumption of drilling operations at the "Zohr" field.
