Dana Gas announced on Sunday it drilled the first in some 30 wells onshore the Nile delta in Egypt.
The Balsam-2 well is the first horizontal well drilled by Dana Gas Egypt and one of very few drilled in the onshore Nile Delta to date, the company said in a statement.
The well is expected to take approximately 4 months to drill and completebe and will be followed by a large number of work-overs due to be drilled in the next 3 years, the statement added.
Dana has contracted the Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC) to conduct the drilling which targets the Qawasim formation at a depth of 3200m.
A slanted and fully cored pilot hole is due to be drilled through the Qawasim reservoir followed by a 700m horizontal section.
The drilling is part of the Gas Production Enhancement Agreement (GPEA) Dana signed with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) in September 2014.
Mark Fenton, GM Dana Gas Egypt, said: “We are very happy to be commencing our drilling operations as part of the GPEA.
“It represents the culmination of many months of preparation work and planning to assemble the portfolio of targets for drilling in conjunction with preparing our infrastructure to receive this additional gas and condensate.
“We are particularly proud to be extending our technical capabilities to include the drilling of horizontal wells.”
