Initial drilling results from the “Sirius-1X” exploratory well in the North East Al-Ameriya area of the Mediterranean Sea, operated by Shell, have shown promising early indicators after reaching the target depth of 2,115 meters.
The findings boost prospects for developing new gas resources from the Sirius exploratory layer.
The well represents Shell’s first exploratory drilling in 2026 as part of the company’s plan to expand gas exploration and production activities in its concession areas in Egypt’s Mediterranean waters.
The drilling programme includes two wells – “Mina West-2” and “Sirius” – in the North East Al-Ameriya area.
A few weeks ago, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi inspected drilling operations in the area as part of ongoing efforts to increase domestic natural gas production.
Shell and its partner, the international oil company KUFPEC, in cooperation with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), also succeeded in maximising the benefits of drilling the “Mina West-2” well to obtain geological and technical data relevant to the “Sirius-1X” well.
This approach has helped achieve significant cost savings by avoiding the need to drill an additional well solely for data collection.
The new discovery is expected to be tied into production by 2029, while drilling operations at the Mina West-2 well continue in preparation for bringing it into production before the end of this year.
