A senior official at Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said the company plans to link 16 development wells to the production map in the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-2015. The links will increase production rates to roughly 4.95bn cubic feet of gas daily, compared to the current 4.75bn cubic feet. In statements to Al-Borsa, the official said the 16 wells will produce around 920m cubic feet of gas daily, but will only add 200m cubic feet to Egypt's production. The remainder of production will make up for the natural decline in wells production. The official added that well production in Egypt naturally declines by 100m cubic feet monthly. He pointed out the 16 wells includes six wells belonging to Petrobel, three belonging to Badr El-Din Petroleum Company (BAPETCO), three wells belonging to Pharaonic Petroleum Company, two to El-Wastani Petroleum Company, and two to El-Mansoura Petroleum. The official added that the 16 wells will add 2,250 barrels of condensate to daily production, contributing significantly to meeting increased demand for condensates on the local market. He affirmed that the EGAS plan was established in agreement with a foreign partner, which committed to linking the wells within the agreed upon time. The official pointed out that, recently, foreign partners operating in the oil sector have delayed natural gas production linkage projects which were previously agreed upon with the Ministry of Petroleum. The delays came in response to the government's lack of commitment to paying debts to companies by the specified deadlines. He added that the Ministry's commitment to pay around 60% of total foreign partners' dues by the end of FY 2014/2015 will encourage them to commit to the production plan and develop wells.
