CAPITAL: CAIRO
MONETARY UNIT: POUND
REFINING CAPACITY: 726,250 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 810,800 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 2.9 BILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 35.2 TCF

Egypt's economy was growing at around 5%/year, and the growth rate was expected to increase in 2001.

Unofficial statements indicated that gas reserves had grown to 43 tcf from highly successful exploration in the Nile Delta since about 1996, the same year the country's oil production peaked.

The Gulf of Suez provided about 70% of Egypt's oil production. Production was in decline, and the main operator, Gupco (BP), was to spend $450 million during 6 years to limit the decline rate.

Production from Hana, a small field on the West Gharib concession onshore, reached nearly 4,000 b/d at the end of 2000.

The field's eight wells were producing from Miocene Kareem, and Well 8 found 22 ft of net pay in Rudeis at 5,400 ft.

Repsol-YPF was to sell its 50% interests in the Gulf of Suez East and West concessions to German Oil & Gas Egypt. The east concession contains Ras Budran field, producing since 1983. The western concession includes Ras Fanar and Zeit Bay fields, on production since 1984 and 1983.

Repsol-YPF was divesting assets to focus on its Western Desert and Nile Delta assets in Egypt.

The Western Desert provided almost 30% of Egypt's oil output in 2000. Production wasn't declining as rapidly as it was elsewhere in Egypt overall because of a string of discoveries.

A group led by a unit of Repsol-YPF SA applied for a declaration of commerciality for the Khalda Offset concession 275 miles west of Cairo late in 2000. Adjacent to the Khalda concession, which produced 43,000 b/d of oil and condensate and 200 MMcfd of gas, Khalda Offset also contains oil and gas finds.

Apache Corp., Houston, a participant with Repsol, said it made four onshore discoveries in first quarter 2000 on four concessions: West Mediterranean, East Bahariya, Khalda, and Khalda Offset. At least one was to be on line in late 2000.

In Nile Delta, Shell, operator with 100% interest of the Northeast Mediterranean Block, sold a 25% interest to an ExxonMobil affiliate. ExxonMobil said the block, with 10 million acres in 2,600-9,800 ft of water, is about half the size of the US Gulf of Mexico deepwater area.

BG PLC said it drilled 11 successful exploration and appraisal wells in the Nile Delta during 1997-99. One of the wells flowed 90 MMcfd of gas, one of the highest rates seen in Egypt.

BG's main developments were to involve fields on the Rosetta and West Delta Deep Marine blocks. Production from Rosetta field was to start in late 2000 at 275 MMcfd shipped by pipeline to the national grid east of Alexandria. The BG group made other large discoveries on Rosetta.

Scarab and Saffron on WDDM were to deliver 600 MMcfd of gas and 3,000 b/d of condensate starting in 2003 from reserves of 4 tcf. The wells, in nearly 700 m of water, represented the country's largest gas field development and its first use of deepwater technology.

Apache said it planned to spud its first well on the offshore part of the West Mediterranean concession in 2001.

Centurion Energy International Inc., Calgary, was developing El Wastani field on the 420,000-acre El Manzala concession. It planned to reenter and complete El Wastani 2, drilled in 1989 and shut in for lack of a gas market. Centurion's first reentry, El Wastani 1, flowed 12.1 MMcfd and 315 b/d of condensate in 1998.

On completion of El Wastani 2, Centurion was to build a 20-km pipeline to an existing gas processing plant. The field was due to be on stream by mid-2001.

Processing activity

As 2000 ended Shell International Gas Ltd., London, cemented a development protocol deal with EGPC to build a 75,000 b/d gas-to-liquids conversion plant with at least one LNG train. The plant would convert Egyptian gas production into synthetic fuels using Shell's middle distillate synthesis process.

West Demiatta on the Mediterranean coast was the preferred location for the $1.7 billion project, given the go-ahead by Egypt's petroleum ministry. Commercial operation was to begin in 2004.

Meanwhile BP PLC signed a key letter of intent with EGPC to build a gas processing complex on the Mediterranean coast. The complex was to include a two-train NGL plant and a two-train LNG plant. Capacities were not disclosed.

BP said the plan was to build a world-scale NGL plant to quickly meet growing liquefied petroleum gas demand in Egypt. First production of NGLs, with delivery of LPG to the local Egyptian market, was set for early 2003. First LNG deliveries were likely in 2004.

BP announced a separate agreement to construct an NGL plant on the Gulf of Suez to be operational in October 2001.