Egypt plans to hike its oil output by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 800,000 bpd in 2008, the petroleum ministry said Wednesday. A program was set up for developing some recent discoveries in the Gulf of Suez and the western Sahara, with the aim of hiking production by 100,000 bpd, a statement said. These new discoveries will be announced soon, ministry spokesman Hamdi Abdel Aziz told reporters, adding that Egypt s current output stood at about 700,000 bpd. Production in the Gulf of Suez, which accounts for about 65 percent of Egypt s total, is expected to increase by 60,000 bpd, the ministry said. Output from the western Sahara fields is due to grow by 40,000 bpd. Indian oil group ONGC Videsh announced earlier this month they had struck an oil field in the Gulf of Suez believed to hold at least 200 million barrels. The petroleum ministry has recently offered a number of incentives to boost the oil sector, which has remained in the shadow of the lucrative gas sector in recent years. Production has declined from its peak levels of close to one million bpd in the mid-1990s, but Egypt has made just enough discoveries to meet domestic consumption without having to import crude.
