(MENAFN) Egypt has uncovered a new natural gas field in its Western Desert, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced on Saturday, marking a significant step in the country’s drive to boost energy output and cut imports.

The discovery was made by local operator Badr El Din Petroleum during exploratory drilling at the BED 15-31 well in the Badr-15 concession, roughly 300 kilometers west of Cairo, the ministry said. The well has already been linked to the production grid, generating around 16 million cubic feet of gas and 750 barrels of condensates per day.

According to official estimates, the field could add about 15 billion cubic feet of gas to Egypt’s proven reserves. It lies within the lower marine reservoir, which is being reassessed “to select the best locations for future drilling of new wells, which will support increased production and maximize gas reserves.”

The ministry said the find reinforces Cairo’s ongoing efforts “to gradually increase gas production and reduce imports.”

In October, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi announced plans to drill approximately 480 new exploration wells over the next five years, backed by more than $5.7 billion in investments. The 2026 program alone targets 101 wells, primarily in the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, Mediterranean, and Nile Delta.

International collaboration is also expanding. In August, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) signed a deal with Russia’s Zarubezhneft to develop an onshore block in the Nile Delta, involving a $14 million investment and the drilling of four new wells.

According to Business Today Egypt, the country produced roughly 4.6 billion cubic feet of gas per day in 2024. The government had aimed to raise daily output to 6 billion cubic feet by the end of 2025, but more recent figures show only a modest increase of about 200 million cubic feet per day since August, with no confirmation that the target has been reached.

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