BP signs three concession amendments and reaches record production for the Nooros field in Egypt with partners
Partners also celebrate successful appraisal results from Baltim discovery
BP today announced it has signed with His Excellency the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Tarek El Molla, concession amendments for the Temsah, Ras El Barr and Nile Delta Offshore concessions in Egypt. These amendments allowed for the economic development of the Nooros development, where the company recently achieved record production.
Hesham Mekawi, Regional President, BP North Africa commented: “BP is proud to progress the acceleration of its drilling activities in the three concession areas. The conclusion of these amendments was a critical milestone that allowed the discovery and fast track development of the Nooros field in the Nile Delta offshore concession which this month achieved record production of 700mmscfd and is targeted to reach 880mmscfd by early 2017. BP will also drill additional wells in Ras El Barr and Temsah areas that are expected to bring significant gas to the Egyptian domestic market.”
BP holds a 50% interest in Temsah and Ras El Barr, and a 25% interest in the Nile Delta Offshore Concession. The remaining working interest is held by ENI through its subsidiary IEOC.
In June of this year, BP announced another important gas discovery in the Baltim South Development Lease which was immediately appraised by another well Baltim SW-2. This appraisal well encountered a gas column of 102 metres overall and 86 metres net within two sand layers of Messinian age rock holding excellent reservoirs.
With this new well, the gas potential discovered in the area has reached 3 tcf of gas in place, of which about 2 tcf is in the Nooros field, with the remainder in the new Baltim South West discovery. BP and its partner ENI are already working on the development options for this discovery.
Mekawi added: “We are pleased with the results of the Baltim SW-2 well as it confirms the great potential of the Messinian play and its significant upside in the area. Our plan is to utilise existing infrastructure which will accelerate the development of the Baltim South West discovery, and expedite early production start-up.”
BP holds a 50% stake in the Baltim South Development lease, and ENI, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds 50%. The appraisal well was drilled by Petrobel, a joint venture between IEOC and the state partner Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).
Further information
Contacts
BP Egypt office, +202 2519 9915
BP Press Office, London, +44 (0)207 496 4076, bppress@bp.com
Notes to editors
- BP has a long and successful track record in Egypt stretching back over 50 years with investments of approximately $30 billion, making BP one of the largest foreign investors in the country. In Egypt, BP’s business is primarily in oil and gas exploration and production. BP is working to meet Egypt’s domestic market growth by actively exploring in the Nile Delta and investing to add production from existing discoveries.
- To date, BP Egypt, in collaboration with the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO), BP’s joint venture (JV) Company with the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC), has produced almost 40% of Egypt’s entire oil production, and currently produces almost 10% of Egypt’s annual oil and condensate.
- In addition, through joint ventures with EGPC/EGAS and IEOC (ENI) the Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC) and Petrobel BP currently produces close to 30% of Egypt's total gas.
- The West Nile Delta (WND) Project is a strategic project for BP. BP is the operator of the project. The West Nile Delta project, involves the development of 5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources and 55 million barrels of condensates. Production from WND is expected to be around 1.2 billion cubic feet a day (bcf/d), equivalent to about 30% of Egypt’s current gas production. All the produced gas will be fed into the country’s national gas grid. Production is expected to start in 2017.
- BP has made a series of discoveries in Egypt in recent years including Taurt North, Seth South and Salmon and Rahamat, Satis, Hodoa, Notus, Salamat and Atoll.
- In the North Damietta Offshore concession (NDO – BP 100% Working Interest), BP made 2 significant Oligocene discoveries Salamat (2013) and Atoll (2015).
- BP is a 33 per cent shareholder of a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant extracting LPG and propane, United Gas Derivatives Company (UGDC) in partnership with ENI/IEOC and GASCO (the Egyptian midstream gas distribution company).
- BP is also present in the downstream sector through Natural Gas Vehicles Company (NGVC, BP 40 per cent) which was established in September 1995 as the first company in Africa and the Middle East to commercialize natural gas as an alternative fuel for vehicles.
Cautionary statement
In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’), BP is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning BP’s Egyptian concessions, including plans and expectations regarding future production levels and the timing thereof; plans and expectations regarding the drilling of additional wells in the Ras El Barr and Temsah areas; and plans and expectations regarding the use of existing infrastructure and the effects thereof. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; the timing, quantum and nature of divestments; the receipt of relevant third-party and/or regulatory approvals; future levels of industry product supply; demand and pricing; OPEC quota restrictions; PSA effects; operational problems; regulatory or legal actions; economic and financial conditions generally or in various countries and regions; political stability and economic growth in relevant areas of the world; changes in laws and governmental regulations; exchange rate fluctuations; development and use of new technology; the success or otherwise of partnering; the actions of competitors, trading partners and others; natural disasters and adverse weather conditions; changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; wars and acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks or sabotage; and other factors discussed under “Principal risks and uncertainties” in our Stock Exchange Announcement for the period ended 30 June 2016 and under "Risk factors" in our Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015.
This press release contains references to non-proved resources and production outlooks based on non-proved resources that the SEC's rules prohibit us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures in our Form 20-F, SEC File No. 1-06262. This form is available on our website at www.bp.com. You can also obtain this form from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or by logging on to their website at www.sec.gov.
