Wintershall Dea and operator British Petroleum Company (BP) have started the operation of its Raven field, in the third phase of the West Nile Delta (WND) development project on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, according to a press statement on Monday. The statement said that the project, which comes at a cost of about $9bn, includes five gas fields belonging to the northern Alexandria and western Mediterranean concession areas. BP, in cooperation with its partners and the Ministry of Petroleum and Renewable Energy, implemented the project in three phases. The Raven field's operation comes after the Giza and Fayoum gas fields began production in 2019, alongside the Taurus and Libra fields, which began production in 2017. The gas is pumped through the newly established onshore facilities of the Raven field, and onto the national gas network. The field currently produces about 600 million cubic feet of gas per day, and has the capacity to produce about 900 million cubic feet of gas per day. This is in addition to about 30,000 barrels of condensate per day, when the gas production from the field reaches its peak. BP CEO Bernard Looney said that the company has completed this multi-phase project and the investment of billions of US dollars in the momentum of current challenges. This serves as testament to the strength of the company's relationship with its partners and Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Renewable Energy. Sameh Sabry, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Wintershall Dea in Egypt, adds: "Our dedicated team has worked closely with bp during a challenging period to help ensure that the project came safely onstream. The startup for Raven is a major step forward. Now we are looking ahead to start our exploration at East Damanhour – our next exciting project in Egypt." The Raven field project included 25 wells, from which gas is produced to onshore facilities through three deep-water offshore facilities. The total production capacity of the onshore facilities is about 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day, including the onshore facilities of the field, with the entire production pumped into the national gas network. BP holds 82.75% of the contractor's stake of the Raven project, while Wintershall Dea owns the remaining 17.25%. The company has invested more than $35bn in Egypt to date. BP and its partners produce about 60% of the total gas produced in Egypt through joint-stock companies and partnerships with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC); the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS); IOC (Eni); the Pharaonic Petroleum Company; and the Belayim Petroleum Company. In early 2017, BP acquired 10% of the Shorouk concession from Eni, which includes the giant Zohr gas field.
