BG International, an affiliate of UK-headquartered energy major Shell, has taken a final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the development of the Mina West gas discovery in Egypt’s Mediterranean Sea, a local source has confirmed.
Shell owns 60% of the gas discovery and operates it alongside KUFPEC (Egypt) Limited (40%), with whom it plans to develop the Mina West discovery in collaboration with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).
“Investing in new production at Mina West expands our industry-leading integrated gas business and supports delivery of secure, reliable energy to Egypt’s domestic market in line with our strategy to create more value with less emissions,” said Dalia ElGabry, Vice President and Country Chair of Shell Energy Egypt.
The offshore Mina West gas field is located within the Northeast El Amriya concession in the Mediterranean Sea. It was discovered in October 2023.
Shell began inaugural drilling at the field in May 2024 using the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) dubbed Stena Forth.
Mina West holds huge gas promise for Egypt
Mina West is estimated to hold 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas, based on early assessment.
The gas field will be developed as a subsea tie-back to the existing infrastructure of West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM), following an infrastructure-led development approach.
The WDDM concession, located approximately 90 kilometers offshore Egypt, is equally operated by Shell and its joint venture company, Burullus.
When eventually developed, the Mina project is expected to leverage the strategic expertise of its partner KUFPEC to support the delivery of reliable energy to Egypt’s domestic gas market.
“KUFPEC has long been a key player in advancing upstream oil and gas projects worldwide. Our partnership with Shell in Egypt reflects our broader commitment to energy cooperation and strategic investments throughout the region,” KUFPEC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eisa A. Al-Maraghi said.
While the targeted investment contributes towards growing Shell’s combined Integrated Gas and Upstream (IG&U) total production by 1% per year to 2030, the FID development spells good news for Egypt, which is already working hard to boost gas output and energy independence.
Egypt’s gas shortage grew during the brief conflict between Iran and Israel.
The latter had shut down a major gas-supplying field to Cairo, throwing the country into a state of energy emergency.
However, the country has recently begun to gradually resume gas supplies to power generation plants as domestic production begins to increase.
