BP hits third gas discovery in North Damietta Concession, East Nile Delta, Egypt

CAIRO -- BP announced another gas discovery in the North Damietta Offshore Concession in the East Nile Delta, Egypt. The Qattameya Shallow-1 exploration well was drilled to a total depth of 1,961 metres in water depth of approximately 108 m using the El Qaher II jack-up rig.

The wireline logs, pressure data and fluid samples confirmed the presence of 37 m of net gas pay in high quality Pliocene sandstones. Options to tie the discovery back to nearby infrastructure are being studied.

Bob Dudley, BP Group CEO, commented: “Qattameya marks our third discovery in the block where we are already developing the Atoll field and appraising the Salamat discovery. This latest discovery confirms our belief that the Nile Delta is a world-class basin.”

Commenting on the discovery, Hesham Mekawi, BP North Africa regional president, said: “We are delighted to sustain our success in these shallow Pliocene targets. We believe development of Qattameya could help unlock the resources in other nearby discoveries with similar shallow low pressure characteristics. This is part of our long-standing commitment to Egypt and to unlocking Egypt’s energy potential.”

Qattameya Shallow-1 well is located 60 km north of Damietta city, 30 km south west of Salamat and only 35 km to the west of Ha’py offshore facilities. BP has 100% equity in the discovery.