Shell signs off on Egypt’s Mediterranean gas project

July 24, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

BG International, an affiliate of UK-headquartered energy major Shell, has taken a final investment decision (FID) to develop a gas discovery in Egypt’s Mediterranean Sea.

Stena Forth drillship; Source: Stena Drilling

Shell plans to develop the Mina West discovery, located in the Northeast El Amriya concession in the Mediterranean Sea, as a 60% owner and operator in partnership with KUFPEC (Egypt) Limited, which holds a 40% interest. The duo will collaborate with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

Dalia ElGabry, Vice President and Country Chair of Shell Energy Egypt, said: “Investing in new production at Mina West expands our industry-leading integrated gas business and supports delivery of secure, reliable energy to Egypt’s domestic market in line with our strategy to create more value with less emissions.”

Discovered in October 2023, the Mina West gas field will be developed as a subsea tie-back to the existing infrastructure of West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM), following an infrastructure-led development approach. This is expected to support the delivery of reliable energy to Egypt’s domestic gas market.

The mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) Stena Forth was used for the Mina West discovery, which is estimated to hold 0.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

KUFPEC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eisa A. Al-Maraghi said: “KUFPEC has long been a key player in advancing upstream oil and gas projects worldwide. Our partnership with Shell in Egypt reflects our broader commitment to energy cooperation and strategic investments throughout the region.”

The WDDM concession is located approximately 90 kilometers offshore Egypt, on the northwestern part of the Nile Delta. It is operated by Shell and its joint venture company, Burullus. Two wells were recently brought online as part of its Phase XI – Sparrow West-1 and Siena DE.

According to Global Maritime, which provided marine warranty survey (MWS) services, start-up was achieved ahead of schedule, in June 2025 for Siena and in July for Sparrow. The wells, located at water depths between 600 and 880 meters, contribute just over 80 million standard cubic feet (mmscf) per day to the company’s production plateau.

As stated by the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry, efforts are currently underway to accelerate the development of the third well in the same phase, with plans to bring it into production by September. The development plan for this phase aims to add up to 130 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Egypt is working hard to boost its energy independence. In addition to oil and gas developments, the country aims to boost energy security through the deployment of floating storage and regasification units (FSRU). Earlier this month, the country was getting ready to welcome another unit, Energos Winter.