Oil and gas company BP started its first gas production from the second stage of its West Nile Delta development offshore Egypt. The project that produces gas from the Giza and Fayoum fields, was developed as a deepwater, long-distance tie-back to an existing onshore plant. Therefore, BP reported that the start-up highlights the second in a string of new upstream major projects expected to be brought online in 2019 for BP.
Mainly, the gas is flowing ashore from the recently-completed eight wells through new subsea infrastructure and pipelines.
DEA Deutsche Erdoel, BP’s partner in the project, noted that the West Nile Delta development has reached first gas from Giza and Fayoum on schedule and below budget.
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Moreover, Giza and Fayoum will produce, in the first place, around 400 million cubic feet of gas per day and are expected to ramp up to a maximum rate of approximately 700 mmscfd.
Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, addressed that as the second stage of the West Nile Delta is online, the company has brought 21 new upstream big projects in production over the last years, being able to deliver 900.000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2021.
The West Nile Delta development includes a total of five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks.
Despite the fact that the development was planned as two separate projects, BP and its partners then decided to deliver it in three stages.
Stage one of the project, which started producing in 2017, included gas production from the first two fields, Taurus and Libra.
Stage three will develop the Raven field and its production is expected to begin in late 2019.
From 2019, when the all three phases are in production, the project is expected to reach up to almost 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), equivalent to about 20% of Egypt’s current gas production.
All the gas produced will be fed into the national gas grid. BP has is the operator with an 82.75 percent share in the development.
The start-up announced today in Egypt is the second major project for BP in 2019, following the Gulf of Mexico’s Constellation development, which BP has a 66.6% non-operated stake in.
