Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) plans to bring total investments in the fiscal years (FY) 2019/20 and 2020/21 up to $1.2bn to expand research, exploration, and development activities. The company aims to drill 13 new wells and carry out 12 repair operations, which will contribute to increasing production to targeted rates. Geologist Khaled Hamdan, chairperson of GUPCO, said during his meeting with the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla, that an ambitious work plan is being implemented to expand the activities of oil and gas research and development in Ras Shuqair area in the Gulf of Suez, which also include developing the quality of infrastructure and production facilities in the region. The results of GUPCO operations showed that the average production from its fields in Ras Shuqair amounted to about 61,700 barrels of crude oil per day during FY 2018/19, and that there is a plan to increase production from Ras Shuqair fields during the current fiscal year to about 73,000 barrels per day. The company aims to increase investments in Ras Shukair fields from $391m in FY 2018/19 to about $503m in FY 2019/20. As part of the efforts to develop and replace the infrastructure and production facilities to provide the highest levels of security and safety in the fields and maintain the efficiency of operation, several projects in the fields of October, Ras Bakr, and Unit 101 have been completed. Work is also underway on the implementation of four new projects, including the rehabilitation of the infrastructure of production facilities at Morgan-36, in addition to the project to replace the sea lines network and the application of low-saline water injection technology in the fields of Badry and Morgan to maximise the production of crude oil. Hamdan added that the procedures for the industrial wastewater treatment project at Ras Shuqair fields are currently proceeding based on international standards in order to support the environmental compatibility, pointing to strict adherence to the requirements of security and occupational safety, which had the greatest impact in the safe completion of the work.
