By: Ecofin agency

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum said on May 4 that the Mina West field will start production in the fourth quarter of 2026. Located in the Mediterranean, the project is being developed by Shell and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), in partnership with Rashid Petroleum.

The field is expected to supply around 160 million cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid, using existing infrastructure. Drilling of a second well, Mina West-2, is underway after what the ministry described as encouraging initial results.

The project is part of a broader strategy to revive deepwater exploration. Egypt and its partners are deploying technologies such as 4D seismic surveying and ocean bottom node (OBN) systems in the country for the first time. The aim is to improve geological data quality, de-risk offshore investment and speed up the identification of deepwater resources.

The push comes as declining output from Zohr, long the backbone of Egypt’s domestic gas production, continues to strain supply. Output at Zohr fell from roughly 2.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2022 to about 1.9 billion cubic feet per day in 2024. Natural gas accounts for around 52 percent of the country’s energy mix, amplifying the impact of that decline across the broader economy.

In response, Cairo has stepped up drilling campaigns to boost production capacity over the medium term. Activity is intensifying in 2026, with several Mediterranean projects underway, including a four-well program tied to existing infrastructure.

Beyond Mina West, the strategy depends on bringing new projects online quickly. Rashid Petroleum plans to invest $350 million from 2027 to drill three additional wells, while work on the Sirius discovery is also advancing.

Egypt’s ability to restore balance will depend on whether these projects move ahead as planned, amid sustained domestic demand and growing competition for the capital needed to develop offshore gas resources.