Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi said the ministry is implementing an integrated five-year plan, in cooperation with foreign partners, to intensify exploration activities and secure new discoveries to enhance oil and gas production.
The remarks were made on Wednesday February 25, 2026 during the general assembly meeting of Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC) to approve the planning budget for fiscal year 2026/2027 and the amended budget for the current fiscal year.
Badawi said the plan focuses on expanding the use of advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence applications in reservoir management, to improve operational efficiency and access resources and layers that are difficult to reach through conventional methods. He added that comprehensive feasibility studies are being prepared to identify viable opportunities, address challenges and maximize high-return investments.
PhPC is intensifying exploratory drilling operations in the North Damietta offshore area, where promising deep-layer prospects are estimated at around 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, notably in the West Atoll area. The company is also drilling two new wells in the Ras El Bar area to bring them onto the production map and boost domestic output.
The company’s general assembly approved an ambitious $449 million investment budget for the next fiscal year, topped by the Harmattan field development plan in the Mediterranean.
Nasser Al-Yafei, Chairman of Arcius Energy, announced the final investment decision for the field’s development and the commencement of drilling operations. The first phase includes drilling two wells with an initial production capacity of 150 million cubic feet of gas and 3,300 barrels of condensates per day, with plans to ramp up output to 200 million cubic feet of gas and 4,400 barrels of condensates per day.
For his part, PhPC Chairman Hossam Zaki said average daily production during the first half of the current fiscal year reached 76,000 barrels of oil equivalent, comprising 387 million cubic feet of gas and 8,740 barrels of condensates per day. He reviewed performance indicators and second-half targets, in addition to the proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
Zaki added that two new wells will be drilled in Ras al-Bar and integrated into production, while exploratory opportunities are being assessed in the Pino and Torto prospects in the same area.
Representatives of foreign partner companies commended PhPC’s performance in occupational safety, health and environmental standards, noting that the company recorded 35 million work hours without lost-time injuries, alongside tangible progress in methane emissions reduction.
Francesco Gasparri, Managing Director of IEOC Production, a subsidiary of Italy’s Eni, reaffirmed his company’s commitment to its new Mediterranean projects, while BP Egypt President Wael Shaheen highlighted the positive impact of artificial intelligence applications on project execution and outlined plans to drill three exploratory wells in Ras El Bar.
PhPC has reduced gas flaring by 82 percent since 2018 and is targeting a reduction of approximately 23,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the current fiscal year as part of ongoing efforts to enhance environmental performance and energy efficiency.
