VENTUES AFRICA – Dana Gas Co has discovered up to 6 billion cubic feet of gas at its West Sama-1 field in the Nile Delta, the company announces.
The discovery – located between the Sama-1 and Sama-2 fields in the West El Qantara Concession– is estimated to hold 4 to 6 billion cubic feet of gas, making the find the company’s first significant dry gas discovery in the Kafr El Sheikh Formation in 2012.
Dana Gas – a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based company – is taking quick steps to formulate a development plan for the find, and hopes to connect the West Sama-1 reserve to a nearby pipeline connecting to the company’s South El Manzala gas processing plant by the end of the week.
“Our team in Egypt continues to deliver tremendous results. We are delighted that this exploration well has been successful. It builds upon Dana Gas Egypt’s outstanding record of discoveries,” Mr Rashid Al Jarwan, Executive Director and Acting CEO of Dana Gas Egypt said in a press release.
The announcement comes in a line of successes for Dana Gas’s Egyptian unit, which in the second quarter of 2012 revealed another significant gas discovery in the Kom Ombo Concession – separate from the company’s Al Baraka field discovered in 2007 – which could double production capacity in the Kom Ombo location.
Dana Gas Egypt’s General Manager Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward disclosed that the company has even higher hopes for further potential finds by the company, conceding that Dana Gas is experiencing a good year. He said: “The well is an excellent start to 2012 drilling in the Nile Delta. We still have a sizeable portfolio of drillable prospects and our exploration activity will continue throughout the year, as will our development activities.”
He added: “The discovery at the West Sama-1 well represents a successful Dana Gas strategy of drilling shallow gas discoveries that can quickly help Egypt meet its growing demand for gas. We are delighted that our prospect generation efforts followed by an effective drilling program are continuing to produce positive results, which will boost even further the company’s production starting from this year”.
The find also coincides with the company’s announcement that its joint-venture natural gas liquids plant at Ras Shukheir has successfully rolled out commercial production, loading its first propane cargo on the 1st October.
Dana Gas revealed the cost of the project to be in the region of 460 million AED emirati dirhams ($125 million). It is expected that the plant will reach a capacity of 120,000 tonnes a year of butane and propane; with butane to be used for domestic consumption while propane will be exported.
Egypt’s gas reserves are currently estimated at over 70 trillion cubic feet. Dana Gas is Egypt’s sixth largest gas producer.
