Eni going full steam ahead with drilling campaign in Gulf of Suez

December 29, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

As the dash for gas off the coast of Egypt continues to run unabated, the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has visited the drilling site of the first well in the drilling program, Italy’s energy giant Eni is currently undertaking in the Gulf of Suez with a rig owned by Shelf Drilling, now part of ADES.

Trident 16 rig; Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources – Egypt

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources – Egypt has shed light on the tour, Karim Badawi, the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, embarked on to see the progress of drilling activities at the 133 well, which Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) is carrying out from aboard the Trident 16 drilling rig belonging to ADES after the firm’s merger with Shelf Drilling.

Minister of Petroleum inspects the drilling of the first well in Eni’s new program in the Gulf of Suez; Courtesy of Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources – Egypt

Badawi was accompanied by Engineer Salah Abdel Karim, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation; Dr. Samir Raslan, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Agreements and Exploration; Engineer Tharwat El Gendy, Chairman of Petrobel; Engineer Francesco Gaspari, Chairman of Eni Production, a subsidiary of the Italian player in Egypt; and Engineer Mahmoud Abu El Yazid, Vice President of the same firm.

During the visit, the Petrobel team, which operates in the region on behalf of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Eni, reviewed the latest activities in the Gulf of Suez and Sinai fields, as well as presenting the latest technologies currently being used to maximize the benefits of the region’s promising potential and open new horizons for production.

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Exploration & Production

The minister has highlighted that the start of Eni’s new program reflects the confidence the firm, which is described as the largest investor in the Egyptian energy sector, has in the country’s hydrocarbon sector and its commitment to intensify research, exploration and production activities, which will enhance crude oil production capacities to reduce the import bill.

The Trident 16 rig is currently operating in the Gulf of Suez located within Sinai fields, where the well 133 is targeting to reach a depth of more than 2,600 meters.

This well represents the first drilling activity under Eni’s new investment work program in Egypt, covering the Gulf of Suez, Sinai, and the Nile Delta, following the agreement signed in mid-November between the Italian player and the EGPC to pump new investments.

This follows the host government agreement inked in February 2025 between Egypt and the Eni-TotalEnergies consortium for the development of hydrocarbons in Block 6 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus.

Egypt and Cyprus also penned multiple commercial agreements for a natural gas project that aims to enable Cypriot gas to reach Egypt’s infrastructure.