Egypt recently announced its largest oil and gas discovery in the country’s desert region in the last 15 years.
Agiba Petroleum made the discovery through the Bustan South-1X exploratory well using the EDC-9 rig operated by the Egyptian Drilling Company. Agiba Petroleum is a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Eni.
Over the past two years, Agiba has expanded drilling activity across Western Desert, where several successful projects have increased crude production to about 32,000 barrels per day, the highest output recorded in three years.
Officials said the new discovery lies about 10 kilometers from existing pipelines and production facilities.
They added that the location near current infrastructure will reduce development costs and allow faster integration into Egypt’s energy system.
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources described the discovery as a major step toward the country’s energy goals and a positive signal to international investors during a period of uncertainty in global energy markets.
The ministry also said the discovery reflects the success of new incentives introduced to attract multinational energy companies.
According to the ministry, the policies encourage exploration close to existing fields to support quicker production timelines and lower development costs.
Early assessments show the field contains about 330 billion cubic feet of natural gas, along with an estimated 10 million barrels of condensate and crude oil.
Officials estimate the reserves could hold nearly 70 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to National News.
The latest discovery adds to a series of recent energy finds in Egypt.
The announcement comes as tensions involving Iran continue to affect global oil and gas markets.
Concerns over supply disruptions have pushed energy prices higher, increasing pressure on producing countries such as Egypt to expand output and strengthen energy security.
Earlier this year, Eni announced another major offshore gas discovery in the Mediterranean that is expected to contain more than two trillion cubic feet of gas and 130 million barrels of associated condensates.
In March this year, Egypt and Apache Corporation announced a natural gas discovery in the country’s Western Desert region.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said the reserves are expected to produce about 26 million cubic feet of gas per day and around 2,700 barrels of condensate daily.
In November 2025, the Petroleum and Mineral Resources Authority announced that Khalda Petroleum Company discovered gas at the Gomana-1 exploratory well after electrical logs confirmed gas-bearing zones.
Initial tests showed the well could produce around 36 million cubic feet of gas per day.
In June 2025, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation announced another oil and gas discovery in the Abu Sennan brownfield located in Western Desert.
The ministry said early test results from the GPR-1X well recorded production of up to 1,400 barrels of crude oil and one million cubic feet of gas per day from the Bahariya formation.
source: africa.businessinsider.com
African Energy Council