The increase in production will come from the Gulf of Suez and the Western Desert, the minister announced following a visit to the oil fields on 25 November.
The exploration and development of two fields will be accelerated in the coming months with the drilling of several wells. The rise in output will take place by the beginning of the new financial year in July 2008.
Part of the output increase will come from the offshore Sakkara field in the Ras Shukair area, which is due to begin production in early 2008.
The field will initially produce 20,000 (b/d) of crude oil and 20 million cubic feet of gas. By the end of the first quarter, production will rise to 30,000 b/d of crude and 27 million cubic feet of gas.
The Sakkara field is being developed by the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company, a joint venture of the UK’s BP and state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Company.
Egypt produced an average 678,000 b/d in 2006, and at the end of the year had proven oil reserves of 3.7 billion barrels.