The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) estimated the natural decline of the production of gas fields from Borollos and Rasheed owned by Dutch Shell to be a monthly 10m cubic feet as a result of a delay in completing the development plans.
A source at EGAS said that the natural decline rate in Borollos and Rasheed is high, and compensation will begin as the first 9B phase is connected to Borollos before the end of the fiscal year (FY).
He explained that Shell seeks to link 100m cubic feet of gas per day from the first phase of the project 9B to Borollos during the first half of this year, to increase production rates and compensate for the rate of natural decline.
The source added that the project includes eight productive wells, and two exploration wells. The production of the second phase will be completed in 9B during the next FY.
He pointed out that Shell aims to increase the production of the fields of Borollos and Rasheed to about 350m cubic feet per day by the end of the current FY, compared to the current 240m cubic feet, through the completion of linking 100m feet of gas per day from 9B.
The source said that the drilling of four wells in phase 9B in the Borollos field in the deep waters is completed, and two of them were linked to production by the end of last year.
He pointed out that the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority pays about $3.1m as value of one million thermal units of the share of Dutch Shell in the natural gas produced from stage 9B in Borollos.
Shell has allocated about $500m in investments in 2019/20 to implement a number of projects in phase 9B and the construction project of a pipeline to link the West Delta gas fields.
The reserves of Borollos are estimated to be 5tn cubic feet of gas and about 55m barrels of condensates.
The source said that the maximum production capacity of a single well in 9B is Borollos is 50m cubic feet of gas per day.
The ministry of petroleum aims to increase the production of the current gas wells and carry out development projects of the explored gas fields, as well as speed up the work in them to allow them to compensate for the natural decline in the production of old fields, in addition to increasing Egypt’s natural gas production.