Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum announced on Wednesday a new gas discovery in the Western Desert, with a production rate of 40 million cubic feet of gas per day.

In a press statement, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the ministry said, 'Within the framework of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources' strategy to maximize production rates and accelerate the development of new discoveries, Khalda Petroleum Company succeeded in achieving a new gas discovery by drilling the deep exploration well Watda in the Western Desert, at a depth of 15,000 feet. Khalda is the joint company between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Apache Corporation.'

The ministry stated that the well's electrical logs showed positive indicators confirming gas-bearing structures, while final production tests, conducted immediately after drilling, resulted in a production rate of 40 million cubic feet of gas per day, 'reflecting the promising potential of the well and bolstering efforts to increase domestic production.'

In parallel with drilling and testing operations, the company completed the implementation of a new 10 km production line with an investment of $2.3 million, enabling the rapid transfer of production and connecting the well to existing infrastructure, as part of a plan to accelerate bringing new discoveries into production, according to the statement.

The statement mentioned that actual production and gas pumping from the new well began on Tuesday, and it will be connected to the national gas grid by the end of July, according to the targeted timeline, contributing to supporting the gas supply system.