Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum said Wednesday a new exploratory well in the Western Desert is boosting the country's oil and gas production by about 3,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D). The North Deep Lotus-1 well, operated by Agiba Petroleum with investments from Italian energy company Eni, is the company's first horizontal exploration well in the region. It produces roughly 1,835 barrels of crude oil and 7 million cubic feet of natural gas daily. The ministry said the discovery holds an estimated 5 million barrels of oil equivalent and highlights the Western Desert's continued potential for energy development. This latest success follows previous breakthroughs in the region, including work in the challenging deep Masajid reservoir at the North Rosa field, where new drilling techniques have increased gas output sixfold. Egypt's Petroleum Minister Karim Badawy praised the achievement, saying modern technology is helping unlock new resources in the Western Desert, making it an important area for investment and production. Agiba Petroleum's Chairman Tharwat El-Gendy said the company invested $404 million last year and maintained stable production levels of more than 26,000 barrels of oil and 77 million cubic feet of gas daily, with total output exceeding 40,000 BOE/D. He also announced the start of a water treatment plant that allows the company to reinject produced water into depleted reservoirs, a move described as an important environmental step. Francesco Gasparri, general manager of Eni's Egyptian subsidiary IEOC, said the company is optimistic about expanding operations in the Western Desert and expects further discoveries in the deep Masajid formation. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
