CAIRO: The Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) allocated U.S. $35 million for new investments in oil and gas exploring and drilling wells with high standards, said GUPCO CEO Abdel Qader Abdel Elah. The depth of the well reaches 18,000 meters under the sea's surface in Shadwan area in the northern Red Sea. The new investment plan enables the company to add a great amount of crude oil to current production rates, as around 5,000 barrels a day will be added. The foreign partner British Petroleum (BP) adheres to working in the area before the end of the current year or the area will be withdrawn, Abdel Ellah added. The project will create job opportunities for 300 workers. The Suez Gulf is enriched with petroleum and volcanic movements, and the company's total production reached 4.5 billion barrels of oil and 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas over 46 years. The reserve volume reached 534 million barrels. The Suez Canal and petroleum are main sources of revenue for Egypt and the petroleum sector workers are aware of their responsibility amid the country's current circumstances as 90 percent of the workers are away from their families and facing threats. GUPCO's investments hit U.S. $10.5 billion although the company faces problems such as machines more than 46 years old. Thus, [production rates declined and the quantity of water increased in the produced oil, he added. Oil transportation lines also face problems. Egypt renewed the contract with BP in May 2006 provided that the company spends $600 million for maintenance and renewing the petroleum refineries by 2016. As of today, the company spent $430 million for maintenance on three refineries, including Ramadan, October, and Morgan 36. The company aimed to decrease the shortage rate of production, which reached 10 percent after it was at 30 percent during the past period. Production rates increased to 14,000 barrels a day since three wells have been drilled. The company also took measurements to fix 7 wells that produce 5,500 barrels of oil. In related news, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum is preparing a plan to attract investments during the upcoming period. It called on Egyptian investors to benefit from the provided chances about exploring for natural gas and petroleum, said Ministry of Petroleum Undersecretary Mahmoud Nazeem. The Ministry called on foreign companies to invest in Egypt as well. Arabic here. Arabic here.
