BP’s dash for gas: Five-well drilling campaign on Mediterranean’s horizon

UK-headquartered energy giant BP has taken steps to expand its natural gas arsenal in the Mediterranean Sea by striking a deal with Egypt for a multi-well drilling campaign, which is expected to yield new finds that will prolong the lifespan of existing production facilities in the West Nile Delta.

BP will evaluate opportunities for a five-well program at water depths ranging from 300 to 1,500 meters in the Mediterranean Sea, thanks to a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was signed at its headquarters in London during the visit of Karim Badawi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Ashraf Swelam, Egypt’s Ambassador to the UK; and Dr. Geo. Samir Raslan, Undersecretary for Exploration and Agreements at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

The Egyptian delegation met with Murray Auchincloss, BP’s Chief Executive Officer; William Lin, Executive Vice President for Gas and Low Carbon Energy; Nader Zaki, Regional President of Middle East and North Africa; and Wail Shaheen, President of BP Egypt. The signing of the MoU is perceived to underscore the strength of the long-standing partnership between the UK firm and the Egyptian government.

Zaki highlighted: “We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the Egyptian government. This memorandum represents a strategic step in our investments in Egypt’s energy sector during this decade, enabling us to develop additional gas resources in the West Nile Delta and bring them onstream as quickly as possible to meet the needs of the local market.”

The UK-based energy player underlines that this drilling campaign is designed to accelerate the development and production of gas reserves, with the intent of extending the use of existing production facilities in the West Nile Delta. These drilling operations are slated to begin in 2026, with possible tie-back options following evaluation of the drilling campaign and resource potential.

The MoU comes after BP and Eni inked a deal with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to pursue hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Lin emphasized: “We appreciate the continued engagement and support from H.E. Minister Karim Badawi. We look forward to applying BP’s technological expertise to build on our recent exploration and development momentum to bring on new gas resources and accelerated production for the country as well as deliver value for our business.”

BP plans to raise its production bar to 2.3-2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2030, enabling the capacity to increase production out to 2035. The MoU follows the firm’s exploration campaign in the first half of 2025, which resulted in ten discoveries. The company’s hydrocarbon search in Egyptian waters was conducted with the Valaris DS-12 drillship.

Two discoveries were made in Egypt, where drilling activities were completed at the Fayoum-5 gas discovery well and the El King-2 exploration well, both of which are part of the West Nile Delta development. The new MoU is aligned with Egypt’s agenda to stimulate investment in hydrocarbon exploration and field development by drilling 586 oil and gas wells by 2030.

BP has taken several steps to bolster its asset portfolio in this country, including the agreement to form a new joint venture (JV) with ADNOC, known as the BP-XRG JV. Other companies are also expanding Egypt’s hydrocarbon arsenal, such as Shell.

The firm’s affiliate, BG International, recently took a final investment decision (FID) to develop a gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea.

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