Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli met on Tuesday with Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi to discuss current projects and updates in the sector.
The minister announced a new gas discovery in the Western Desert by Apache and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation. The Skal-1X well showed daily production of 26 million cubic feet of gas and 2,700 barrels of condensates. Its location near existing facilities will reduce costs and speed production.
He also confirmed the arrival of the drilling ship Valaris DS-12 in Egyptian waters. It will drill four wells in the Mediterranean for BP and Arceus Energy, reflecting strong confidence from global partners.
The ministry plans to drill more than 100 exploration wells in 2026 to boost production. Badawy highlighted progress in reducing arrears to foreign partners from $6.1 billion in June 2024 to $1.3 billion now, aiming for full settlement by June 2026. This has encouraged major investments: Eni with $8 billion, BP with $5 billion, Apache with over $4 billion, and Arceus with $2 billion.
The minister also presented measures to reduce fuel consumption and ease financial burdens. Recent inspections uncovered violations in fuel stations, including manipulation of stocks and illegal sales.
Madbouli stressed the need to secure safe reserves of petroleum products to meet local demand and ensure market stability.
