Thursday 30 Jan
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced today, Wednesday, the successful drilling of the exploratory well 'East Crystal-1' in the Gulf of Suez, carried out by the Emirati company Dragon Oil, through the joint operating company GAPCO.
Preliminary test results of the Hawara layer, extending 16 feet, showed a daily production of more than 2,000 barrels of crude oil. The main honey layer, which is more than 100 feet thick, has not yet been tested. GAPCO will complete the development of the discovery by drilling two additional wells, which will contribute to adding more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
This discovery comes within the framework of implementing
the strategy of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, which aims to
increase domestic oil and gas production, as a key pillar to contribute to
reducing the import bill.
Through the drilling of the new well, located in the
integrated concession area in the Gulf of Suez, the reserves expected before
drilling, amounting to about 8 million barrels, were confirmed, with
expectations of exceeding this quantity.
The well 'East Crystal-1' is the second successful
exploratory well drilled based on the application of the latest seismic survey
techniques, specifically the Ocean Bottom Node (OBN) seismic survey technology,
following the success of the well 'S. El-Wasl-1'.
The Ministry pointed out that this discovery is a positive indicator of the possibility of restoring production from old fields, especially in the Gulf of Suez area, and achieving new discoveries therein, through the application of modern technologies, after witnessing a natural decline in their productivity over the years.
