Egypt expects steady oil production over the next two years

08 November 2015

Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla says production will be around 700,000 barrels a day

  • Exploration in the Western Desert has enabled Egypt to maintain steady production
  • Currently 54-55 per cent of Egyptian crude is coming from the Western Desert
  • Egypt is in the midst of an energy shortage due to declines in domestic gas production

Egypt is expecting oil production to stay steady at around 700,000 barrels a day for the next two years, according to Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla.

“Keeping production at the level it is now is in itself a success because you are netting off the natural decline in the reservoirs by adding new production of oil,” he told the UK-based news agency Reuters.

“(Increased production) might be in the year 2017, 2018 when gas comes from Zohr and from the West Nile Delta (fields), condensate will come, so by that time, it (oil output) may be something more.”

El-Molla says that exploration in the Western Desert has enabled Egypt to maintain steady production, with new finds offsetting declines from maturing fields.

“Fifty-four to 55 per cent of our crude is coming from the Western Desert, so it is the future and the potential of oil in Egypt,” he said.

Energy shortages: Egypt is currently in the midst of an energy shortage due to declines in domestic gas production at a time when demand for electricity is rapidly increasing.

It is currently using liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to meet domestic demand until planned large-scale gas production facilities come online.

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