German oil and gas firm DEA has bagged a new exploration block in the onshore Nile Delta in Egypt near its producing Disouq development project. The onshore Block 10, now called East Damanhour, was awarded to DEA by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) during the country's 2018 Bid Round. The East Damanhour exploration block, which spans 1,418km2, is located west of the Disouq development leases. The German oil and gas company is the operator of the Disouq leases with a license share of 100%. The company revealed its intentions to drill five to seven exploration wells in the East Damanhour block during the first exploration phase of three years. DEA Egypt general manager Sameh Sabry said: "We are pleased with the award of this licence, which is in line with our ambition to strengthen our business in Egypt. "The block is located in DEA's core region in the Onshore Nile Delta, where we successfully explore the Messinian and Pliocene plays as operator since 2004. The extensive knowledge and experience we gained over the years, the right set of skilled experts and our nearby infrastructure will offer us very good conditions to continue this exploration efficiently." Sabry further said the proximity of the Disouq central processing plant and infrastructure with the East Damanhour block gives the company an operational edge. This would help in fast tracked development of any discoveries made while resulting in significant synergies and cost optimizations The newly awarded block is also said to provide significant potential in pre-Messinian structures. In February 2018, DEA said that it will invest nearly $500m in Egypt during the next three years into its assets that include its oil fields in the Gulf of Suez and the Disouq gas fields. The company, which has been operating in Egypt since the 1970s, has invested over $3bn in the region alongside its partner companies. It has developed the Ras Budran, Ras Fanar, and Zeit Bay crude oil fields in the Gulf of Suez to produce an excess of 650 million barrels of crude in more than 30 years. The German oil and gas company had brought the Disouq gas development project in the onshore Nile Delta into production in 2013. Source: Compelo
