US energy company Apache to increase gas output in Egypt

• Three wells in Western Desert
• Estimated cost $25m
• Joint venture with EGPC

US hydrocarbon exploration company Apache Corporation will reportedly add 40 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to its production capacity in Egypt this month by drilling three new wells in its Western Desert concession areas.

The cost of drilling the three wells, which are rich in crude oil and natural gas, is estimated at $25 million, an unidentified government official told Asharq Business.

In December Apache connected five new wells to the national natural gas grid, adding a production capacity of 65 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The company is currently focusing its Egyptian operations on Western Desert oil and gas concessions through a joint venture with the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

Apache’s investments in Egypt’s oil sector reached $2.7 billion in 2024, compared to $2 billion in 2023. Its total crude oil and gas production reached nearly 211,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the report said.

• Egypt launches its largest hydrocarbon exploration programme
• Egypt aims to repay foreign oil company dues next year
• UK’s Terra to explore for oil and gas in Egypt

Egypt launched a seismic survey last month to explore for oil and gas in sites that form nearly 10 percent of the country’s area.

Cairo is set to drill 101 oil and gas wells in 2026, as part of a $5.7 billion investment plan approved by the government in 2025 to “spudding” (initially drill) 480 wells over the next five years.

Egypt’s current natural gas production is estimated at 4.2 billion cubic feet per day, while domestic demand is 6.2 billion cubic feet per day, forcing the country to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to bridge the supply-demand gap.