R ES E A R C H & A N A LYS I S
THE WESTERN DESERT: EGYPT’S GIANT PETROLEUM RESERVOIR
BY AMINA HUSSIEN, REHAM GAMAL & TASNEEM MADI
were awarded for Shell, while one was awarded for Eni, according to the s The Western Desert is enriched by the potential it has for oil and gas exploration as it is the main crude oil producer among other Egyptian regions. This can be of the four concessions totaled $52.15 million. In add The signature bonus demonstrated in the presence of crude oil in large quantities and high production total financial commitments recorded $74 million to drill 18 explorat rates in the deep layers of the oil concession areas in the region. The further region’s statement mentioned.. production represented 37% and 32.4%of Egypt'stotalproduction in Fiscal Years (FYs) 2017/18 and 2018/19, respectively, according to the Egyptian General Active Agreements Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) data. From the 1970s to June 2019, over 15 international oil companies ( signed 62 agreements to exploit different concessions in the Western Des Bid Rounds most active operating company in the region is Apache, where it was awa concessions with a share of 34% of the signed agreements. In May 2018, EGPC announced an international bid round, offering 11 concessions;
five of which were located in the Western Desert. The offered blocksThe covered a total IOCs are granted the rights to carry out different types of activities ac area of 12,5622,km according to a statement by EGPC.. to the type of the signed agreement. Until June 2019, the active ag accounted foroffive, The bid round results were announced in February 2019, on the sidelines the 44, and 13 for exploration, development and exp EgyptPetroleum Show(EGYPS2019).Sevenblockswereawardedto major development activities, respectively. companies; four of which are located in the Western Desert. Three of these blocks
34% 4 AWARDED BLOCKS IN THE WESTERN DESERT IN 2019 Company
Concession
Eni
Southeast Siwa
1.15
17
4
3,013
Southeast Horus
23
24.5
5
2,508
South Abu Sennan
1
7.8
3
2,481
Abu MadiEl Gamil Pipeline
27
24.7
6
3,737
Shell
Signature Bonus ($ million)
Minimum Financial Exploratory Wells Commitment ($ million)
Area(km2)
Apache
24% Others
5%
EGPC
The Western Desert’s Active Agreements per Company Until June 2019
8%
HBS International
16% Shell
16 EGYPT OIL & GAS NEWSPAPER
13% IEOC