UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company Energean announced that the first gas was produced at North El Amriya and North Idku (NEA/NI) development offshore Egypt.
The company sanctioned the project in January 2021, which represented a development period of two years and two months from the final investment decision to the first gas.
It has produced the first gas from well NEA#6, and the remaining three wells are expected to be operational this year.
The NEA/NI development contains an estimated 39mmboe of 2P reserves with 88% gas, and a net working interest production is expected to peak at 15 to 20kboed in 2024.
The development leverages existing infrastructure and involves the subsea tieback of four wells to Energean’s North Abu Qir PIII platform.
Energean chief executive officer Mathios Rigas said: “Our successful development of first gas at NEA/NI is a good example of our commitment to Egypt and longstanding partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum, EGPC and EGAS, creating value for all stakeholders.
“We are delighted to bring on new production into our East Mediterranean gas-focused portfolio, as well as meeting the needs of Egypt and Egyptians through underwriting energy security with reliable supply that has a lower carbon footprint than alternative sources of domestic energy.”
The NEA and NI concessions are located near Abu Qir gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea, offshore Western Nile Delta, Egypt.
They are fully owned by Energean and are operated through separate JV companies controlled by the overall management of Abu Qir Petroleum.
NEA contains two discovered and appraised gas fields, Yazzi and Python, while NI contains four discovered gas fields. Both areas contain additional mapped but undrilled prospects.
The two fields are planned to be developed as satellite fields to the Abu Qir gas-condensate offshore and onshore infrastructure.
The development concept includes three subsea wells, to be drilled in water depths between 30m and 85m, tied back to the North Abu Qir III platform.
In 2021, TechnipFMC has been awarded the engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning (EPIC) contract for the development of NEA/NI subsea tieback project.