Dana Gas starts drilling Merak-1 well off Egypt

Middle East’s private sector natural gas company Dana Gas has commenced drilling operations at its Merak-1 well, offshore Egypt, classified as ‘world-class’ prospect.

The location is in 755 meters of water in the North El Arish concession, also known as Block 6. This block is in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin where other world-class giant natural gas discoveries have been made in recent years, Dana Gas said in its statement.

The Merak-1 well will be drilled with the Tungsten Explorer, on hire from ADVantage Drilling Services SAE, a JV between ADES International and Vantage Driller II, a subsidiary of Vantage Drilling.

The well is planned to take approximately 70 days to drill, Dana Gas said.

Prospective resources to be added from this well in the case of exploration success could reach 4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas.

The discovery of a world-class resource of this size could easily support an offshore field development, the company said in its statement noting that if Merak-1 is successful, additional exploration and appraisal drilling will follow.