Egypt Brings 591 Wells Onstream and Settles Partner Arrears That Reached 6.1 Billion Dollars

By The Edge Research Team

Egypt put 591 new wells into production and made 113 discoveries between July 2024 and June 2026, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi said as he opened the MOC 2026 petroleum conference in Alexandria on 20 October. He also said Egypt has settled all overdue dues owed to its exploration and production partners. Those arrears had reached an estimated 6.1 billion dollars more than 2 years ago, he said.

The pace works out at 24.6 wells brought onstream a month over the 24 months, on our calculation. Discoveries came at 4.7 a month, on our calculation. Badawi placed the work within the push to support local production and offset the natural decline of fields.

Overdue Partner Dues Settled in Full as Wells Come Onstream

Badawi said the settlement paves the way for a new phase of partnership built on trust. His priorities, he said, are to keep raising local production and to speed up the development of discoveries, taking them from discovery to production.

Alexandria, the host city, has 4 refineries that account for an estimated 45 percent of Egypt’s refining capacity, the minister said. It also has 5 petrochemical complexes. He named the MIDOR, Alexandria and Ameriya refineries. He also cited gas production projects in North Alexandria and the West Delta deep water, and the Western Desert gas complex.

MOC 2026: Egypt’s Day-One Figures

Note: Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources releases of 20 October 2026. The arrears level and the refining share are the ministry’s approximate figures. Monthly rates in the text are our calculation over 24 months.

Aphrodite Fiscal Terms Initialled for the Egypt Link

Egypt and Chevron initialled the fiscal regime agreement for developing Cyprus’s Aphrodite gas field and linking it to Egypt. Badawi and Michael Damianos, Cyprus’s Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, attended. Mohamed El-Bagouri, head of the ministry’s central legal affairs department, initialled for Egypt. Javier La Rosa, Chevron’s president of core assets and emerging countries, initialled for the company.

The ministry said the agreement serves to complete the financial, commercial and regulatory frameworks for the project. It covers moving the field’s gas to Egypt, where it can be received, processed and liquefied, then sent to local and global markets as demand and project economics allow. No volumes, values or start date were published.

Damianos said Aphrodite is expected to send gas to Egypt to meet local market needs. The Cronos project, he added, is planned to use facilities linked to the Zohr field and the Damietta liquefaction and export plant. Badawi pointed to Egypt’s gas transmission networks, processing facilities and 2 liquefaction and export plants, at Idku and Damietta.

The Aphrodite step is Egypt’s second agreement with Chevron this month, on our count. On 5 October, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the company agreed an exploration deal for the Lotus area. It carries a minimum investment of 88 million dollars, including the drilling of 2 exploration wells.

Italy’s Saipem and the Egyptian Modern Drilling Company (MDC) also signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines. Saipem chief executive Alessandro Puliti and MDC chairman and managing director Tamer Salah signed it.

Eni Begins Start-Up of Meleiha Phase 2

Eni has launched start-up activities at the Meleiha Phase 2 project through Agiba Petroleum Company, its joint venture with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). The new hub in the Merged Meleiha concession is designed to process up to 100 million standard cubic feet of gas a day. At that design maximum, it would handle 36.5 billion standard cubic feet a year, on our calculation.

The project includes development wells, gathering systems, trunklines and a new dedicated gas export pipeline. The company has worked in Egypt since 1954 and says it is the country’s leading energy producer. It puts its 2025 equity production at an estimated 242,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. That comes to 88.3 million barrels of oil equivalent over the year, on our calculation.

Foreign Partners Put 6.7 Billion Dollars Into the Sector

The Central Bank of Egypt’s balance of payments for fiscal 2025/2026, released on 12 October, shows the money moving between Egypt and its partners. Greenfield inflows from foreign companies into oil and mineral resources rose to 6.7 billion dollars, from 6.2 billion dollars a year earlier.

Cost recovery paid to foreign partners rose too, to 6.5 billion dollars from 5.6 billion dollars. It covers exploration, development and operating costs the partners incurred earlier. Net inflows to the sector came to 190.2 million dollars, down from 598.3 million dollars in 2024/2025.

Oil imports rose 27.6 percent in 2025/2026, to 24.9 billion dollars. Gas led the increase, on our reading. The bank puts the rise in gas imports at 4.7 billion dollars, against 1.9 billion dollars for crude oil. On the export side, oil sales abroad reached 6.6 billion dollars, up 18.1 percent. Petroleum made up 15.0 percent of merchandise exports, against 13.9 percent a year earlier, on our calculation.

Egypt’s Oil Exports and Sector Investment Inflows Rise

Note: Central Bank of Egypt, balance of payments for fiscal 2025/2026, both years preliminary. The oil trade deficit is our calculation from the table values. Petroleum imports were 22.9 percent of merchandise imports in 2025/26, against 21.4 percent, on our calculation.

Why it matters: Egypt says all overdue dues to its exploration and production partners are now settled. Foreign companies put 6.7 billion dollars of greenfield money into the sector in 2025/2026. The new wells and Meleiha Phase 2 serve the minister’s priority of raising local production, on our reading. Aphrodite is expected to bring Cypriot gas to Egypt, where the ministry says it can be processed and liquefied for local and global markets.

Outlook: MOC 2026 runs until 22 October, with 21 sessions on its second and third days. With the Aphrodite fiscal terms initialled, a final signature is the next step to watch, on our reading. For Meleiha Phase 2, the next marker is Eni’s first output figure from the new hub, on our reading.

Sources: Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Eni, Central Bank of Egypt, The Edge.

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