New oil discovery in Western Egypt for Apache
A new oil well in the Western Sahara region of Egypt, described as a "gusher," was announced as having the capacity
of producing 5,000 barrels of high grade crude and 4.3 mm cf of gas daily.
The discovery took place in an area where the US Apache oil company has been drilling for oil and gas since 2005. The
company is currently studying the size of the well and its potential reserves of crude.
It is hoped that the new well will be the harbinger for more wells in that region of the country where oil is being
produced at the present time at a capacity of 240,000 bpd, which represents about 35 % of all crude oil production in
Egypt.
Oil minister Sameh Fahmi noted that the new discovery is at a spot close to the Libyan border, giving the impression
that there may be extended areas across the border rich in oil and gas. The discovery will open the door wide to
international oil companies that wish to conduct searches for energy in that region of Egypt, he aspired.