Shell Starts Multi-Well Drilling Campaign off Egypt with Stena Drillship

Stena IceMax drillship (Credit: Stena Drilling)

Shell has launched a multi-well offshore drilling campaign in Egypt’s Mediterranean waters using Stena Drilling’s Stena IceMax drillship, marking the start of a new development phase at the West Mena gas field.

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, inspected the drilling of the first development and production well at West Mena in the North East Amriya area aboard the Stena IceMax drillship following its arrival to implement Shell’s program.

The first well is expected to begin initial production by the end of the year, adding about 160 million cubic feet of gas per day and 1,900 barrels of condensates.

The four-well campaign includes the West Mena-1 and West Mena-2 development wells, which will be tied back to existing production facilities in the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) area. Shell operates the North East Amriya block with a 60% stake, alongside Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, which hold 40%.

The program also includes the exploratory Sirius well in North East Amriya to assess a gas reservoir in shallower waters, followed by the Velox well in the North Cleopatra area in the Herodotus Basin aimed at opening new prospects for gas discoveries.

Dalia El-Gabry, Chairperson of Shell Egypt, said a new phase of offshore drilling plans in the Mediterranean will begin this year to accelerate the development of the West Mena field, alongside continued exploratory drilling to unlock new gas resources.

She added that the strong return of foreign investments to Egypt’s petroleum sector reflects growing confidence among international investors, led by Shell, in the ministry’s modern strategy, which has helped improve the investment climate and rebuild trust, confirming Egypt’s ability to attract long-term investments.