Dragon Oil Starts Production at Egypt’s Al Wasl Field

International oil and gas company Dragon Oil has started producing crude from the Al Wasl field offshore Egypt. The first well – Belayim 293-5A – has been connected, with the offshore platform showing an initial production rate of 3,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Representing the company’s first oil discovery in the country and the largest in the Gulf of Suez in 20 years, the Al Wasl field involves the construction of a new offshore production platform, the expansion of the production line and the development of an electricity line to power pumps. A water injection project will also be constructed to support production rates.

The company aims to connect the second well – located south of the Belayim 293-5A well – by mid-January 2024. This connection will increase production to 6,000 bpd.

Dragon Oil plans to drill an additional seven wells at the site by 2026, as the company “seeks to permanently expand the scope of petroleum discoveries in Egypt over long-term periods, especially since the Egyptian market is currently considered one of the most economically promising markets in the Middle East,” a statement read.

An agreement is currently in place with the Egyptian Government to increase output at the field to 15,000 bpd. These plans to more than double production at the field within the next two years is supported by a $200-million investment made by Dragon Oil.

“The huge Al Wasl project embodies our keenness to support the Egyptian economy, and our readiness to complete the path of growth and expansion in the Egyptian market during the current year, by intensifying exploration and expansion in several regions, developing fields and repairing wells to increase the production of Gulf of Suez oil fields,” the statement concluded.