U.S.-headquartered energy giant Chevron has made a new gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea, supporting further field appraisal and assessment of development opportunities for the four-year-old Nargis offshore gas discovery and boosting Egypt’s Mediterranean energy ambitions.
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has disclosed positive results from drilling operations at the Nargis-2 natural gas well in the Mediterranean Sea, which started in May through a partnership involving Chevron, its partners, and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).
The country’s energy department emphasizes that these results support ongoing efforts to appraise the Nargis discovery from 2022 and accelerate work toward the commercial development of the field as one of the undeveloped discoveries.
The findings also confirm the extension of the gas-bearing reservoirs previously identified in the Nargis-1 well, in addition to the encounter of an additional gas-bearing interval with high-quality reservoir properties, backing efforts to assess the area’s gas resources and evaluate opportunities for their development.
The Nargis-2 well, which reached a total depth exceeding 5,000 meters, was drilled to appraise the extensions of Nargis discovery, as well as to test deeper geological intervals, as part of efforts to expand exploration activities and maximize the potential of the Mediterranean Sea, including formations characterized by high pressures and high temperatures.
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, evaluation results indicated up to 35 meters of net gas pay, a positive indicator supporting further technical studies to determine the discovery’s overall potential and assess its development prospects.
“These results are part of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ strategy to accelerate the development of undeveloped discoveries, encourage investment partners to intensify exploration activities, and convert discovered resources into reserves that can be developed and produced, thereby supporting increased domestic natural gas production,” highlighted the country’s ministry.
Karim Badawi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, who had witnessed the commencement of drilling operations at the Nargis-2 well in May aboard the Stena Forth drillship, underlined the importance of accelerating the appraisal and development of undeveloped gas discoveries.
Badawi also stressed the need to strengthen cooperation with international energy companies to capitalize on the country’s petroleum and natural gas resources. Chevron operates the Nargis area in partnership with Italy’s Eni, UAE’s Mubadala Energy, and Egypt’s Tharwa Petroleum.