LONDON (Alliance News) - BP PLC Monday said it has made a second gas discovery in the North Damietta offshore concession in the East Nile Delta, Egypt.
The oil and gas major said the Atoll 1 deepwater exploration well is currently being drilled and has so far reached 6,400 metres depth, penetrating around 50 metres of gas pay in high-quality oligocene sandstones.
The well is to be drilled a further kilometre, and BP said it will be "the deepest well ever drilled in Egypt." When it reaches full depth, it will be testing the same reservoir section found to be gas bearing in BP's Salamat discovery in 2013, which is located around 15 kilometres to the south of Atoll 1.
"This is the second significant discovery in the licence after Salamat. The estimated potential in the concession exceeds 5 trillion cubic feet and we now have a positive starting point for the next possible major project in Egypt after BP?s West Nile Delta project," said Chief Executive Bob Dudley.
BP shares were down 0.2% to 446.35 pence per share on Monday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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