Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El-Molla, stressed the need for intense efforts to implement an action plan that would meet the goals of increasing oil and gas production, especially with the current rise in international oil prices.
Molla chaired the general assemblies for Khalda Petroleum Company and Qarun Petroleum Company to approve the budget plans for the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23 and the revised budget for 2021/22.
The volume of initial investments at Khalda Petroleum is predicted to reach $900 million.
Khalda Chairman Saeed Abdel Moneim noted that drilling development and exploration activities are set to witness the drilling of more than 100 wells.
It will help achieve an average daily production of 132,000 barrels of crude oil, condensate, butane, and 631 million cubic feet (mcf) of natural gas.
Qarun Petroleum Company’s Chairman Ashraf Abdel-Gawad stated that it plans to produce about 20,500 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) during 2022/23 with investments of $242 million.
The target is achieved based mainly on a drilling program that includes 27 exploration and development wells.
Abdel-Gawad added that the repairs, maintenance, re-running, and completion of wells will continue to achieve the highest production rates and maintain high rates throughout the average lifespan of wells.
Meanwhile, the Western Desert Operating Petroleum Company (WEPCO) announced that it is targeting an increase in oil production by 120% to reach 6,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) during the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23.
The announcement came during a meeting headed by the Minister of Petroleum to approve the planning budgets of WEPCO and Badr Petroleum Company (Bapetco) for FY 2022/23.
WEPCO will manage, operate, and develop the el-Hamra port.
The minister stressed the need to accelerate the implementation of the new expansion plan for el-Hamra port, which is seen as one of the most important petroleum ports in the al-Alamein region.
Molla added that the expansion plan will help the state’s development and construction strategy for al-Alamein by implementing two significant projects.
They include the establishment of warehouses at the port over an area of 120 feddans and the establishment of a petroleum trading zone over an area of 420 feddans which will be part of the national initiative of converting Egypt into a regional hub for trading petroleum products.
Molla praised the progress in developing the infrastructure to supply the western region and al-Alamein with the needed fuel for the state's development strategy.
He pointed to the ongoing steps to establish the infrastructure to supply the western region and New Alamein with its fuel needs to serve the development and urban expansion in the area.
WEPCO’s Chairman Ibrahim Masoud elaborated that this target will be achieved after drilling five exploratory and developmental wells and completing another six with investments worth $28 million.
