By: OrePulse

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Chevron said on October 24 that an appraisal well drilled off Egypt's Mediterranean coast, Nargis-2, had produced positive results, pointing to a larger gas resource than previously confirmed at the offshore site.

Nargis-2 is the second well drilled in the Nargis concession, following the original discovery well, Nargis-1.

The well was drilled from the Stena Forth drillship starting in May under a partnership between Chevron and its partners along with the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, known as EGAS. Drilling reached a total depth of more than 5,000 meters, going deeper than the earlier Nargis-1 well in order to test higher-pressure, higher-temperature rock formations below the zones already drilled. The campaign ran for roughly five months before the results were announced.

According to the ministry, testing showed gas-bearing zones in the well with a net pay thickness of up to 35 meters. Officials said the appraisal verified that gas-bearing zones found earlier at Nargis-1 run farther than had previously been established, and that a separate gas-bearing layer with favorable properties was also detected.

Nargis-1, which made the original discovery in 2022, sits in an offshore concession in the eastern Nile Delta basin of the Mediterranean, off the Sinai Peninsula. The earlier well identified roughly 61 meters of net gas pay within a sandstone-bearing interval with a total thickness of about 140 meters.

Chevron operates the Nargis concession and holds a 45 percent stake, according to reported partnership figures. Italy's Eni holds 30 percent through its Egyptian subsidiary, IEOC, Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Energy holds 15 percent, and Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum Company holds the remaining 10 percent. The partners continued technical work to evaluate the discovery, and no timeline for commercial production had been set. The ministry did not say whether further appraisal wells are planned in the area.

The ministry said additional technical studies are still needed before the full potential of the Nargis discovery and its development prospects can be determined, and it did not say when those studies would be completed. No estimate of the total reserves potentially held in the area has been confirmed by the ministry or Chevron.

Officials framed the Nargis-2 results as part of a wider ministry push to speed up work on undeveloped finds, draw more investment into exploration, turn identified resources into booked reserves and lift domestic natural gas production.

Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi traveled to the Stena Forth in May to mark the start of drilling on Nargis-2. He said at the time that accelerating work on undeveloped gas finds and strengthening ties with international energy companies remained a priority for the ministry. The well went on to reach its final depth and deliver the results announced five months later.