BP beats the clock: Mediterranean gas well comes online two years early

September 1, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

UK-headquartered energy giant BP has added around 80 million cubic feet per day (cf/d) of natural gas to domestic supply from its West Nile Delta (WND) operations, bringing forward production by roughly two years from a development off the Mediterranean coast of northern Egypt, near the Nile Delta and Alexandria.

A man climbing down a ladder on an offshore platform — Illustration; Source: BP

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has disclosed the start of production from BP’s Fayoum 4 well in the West Nile Delta two years ahead of schedule, contributing approximately 80 million cf/d of gas. This is part of the North African country’s strategy to increase domestic oil and natural gas production, accelerate field development, and bring wells on stream.

Wail Shaheen, President of BP Egypt, highlighted that the early production from the Fayoum 4 well reflects the company’s continued support for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ strategy to accelerate field development activities, maximize the utilization of existing infrastructure, and deploy the latest technologies to increase domestic natural gas production in Egypt.

“The company successfully brought forward the start of gas production from the Fayoum 4 well by around two years ahead of schedule, through accelerating project implementation and leveraging existing offshore infrastructure,” emphasized the country’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

This production start-up is said to assert the significance of integrating exploration, development, and production activities, while expediting the development and production of discoveries.

BP confirmed in September 2025 that it would evaluate opportunities for a five-well program at water depths ranging from 300 to 1,500 meters in the Mediterranean Sea.

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The firm used the Valaris DS-12 drillship to spud the El Fayoum-5 well in February 2025, encountering four prospective Messinian gas reservoirs, with a total sand thickness of 50 meters at a measured depth of approximately 2,900 meters in the North Alexandria offshore concession.

The company announced the following month that the well marked the final one in its four-slot drilling campaign in the West Nile Delta, with plans underway to tie back the discovery to its operated WND gas development.

This gas project consists of a series of gas condensate fields offshore Egypt, within the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean deepwater concessions. The Raven field, the final phase of the WND project, has been in production since early 2021.

The project’s initial phase included eight subsea wells, situated up to 65 kilometers offshore, at water depths ranging from 550 to 700 meters. BP, as the project operator, holds an 82.75% stake, while Harbour Energy owns the remaining 17.25%.

BP formed a new joint venture (JV), known as Arcius Energy, with ADNOC to boost its gas portfolio in Egypt. This JV is expected to help the country drill 586 oil and gas wells by 2030, which is part of the African nation’s investment goals.