Egypt’s Eni-Run Nassim-1X Gas Well Shows an Estimated 200 Billion Cubic Feet in Place
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said the Nassim-1X exploration well in the Mediterranean’s Tibah concession has found gas, an estimated 200 billion cubic feet in place.
For Egypt, the find sits within reach of existing infrastructure. The ministry plans a line of an estimated 22 kilometres to the Abu Madi-El Gamil line, which it says will shorten the time to production. In The Edge’s reading, the short planned tie-in is the find’s main strength; the recoverable share, which studies have yet to fix, will set its final weight.
Eni operates and Petrobel drilled for the partners
The well lies in the Tibah concession, where Eni is the main operator in partnership with Woodside, the ministry said in a statement on 6 November. Petrobel, the operating company, drilled the well on the partners’ behalf.
Drilling and the initial evaluation found a gas-bearing layer with excellent petrophysical properties. The ministry put the net thickness of the producing layer at an estimated 15 metres, measured in true vertical depth.
Preliminary estimates put the original gas in place in the reservoir at 200 billion cubic feet. That is 5.7 billion cubic metres.
Nassim-1X at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Well | Nassim-1X, exploration, natural gas |
| Concession | Tibah, Mediterranean |
| Operator | Eni |
| Partner | Woodside |
| Drilled by | Petrobel, for the partners |
| Gas in place | 200 billion cubic feet, preliminary |
| Net pay | 15 metres, true vertical depth |
| Planned tie-in | 22 km line to Abu Madi-El Gamil |
| Under study | recoverable reserves, output |
Figures are the ministry’s preliminary estimates of 6 November 2026; the gas in place is not a reserves figure.
A planned 22 kilometre tie-in shortens the route to production
The ministry plans to connect the well to existing production facilities. The new gas line of an estimated 22 kilometres would tie into the Abu Madi-El Gamil line.
The ministry gives three reasons for the route. It uses infrastructure already in place, it shortens the time needed to put the discovery on the production map, and it supports Egypt’s domestic gas output.
Technical and reservoir studies are now under way. They will set the size of the recoverable reserves and the well’s production potential, ahead of a plan to develop and produce the gas. The planned tie-in is the step the ministry has already set out to bring the gas to production.
The find adds to a run of Mediterranean results
Nassim-1X follows positive results from Narges 2, reported on 24 October. The ministry said the Narges 2 well, operated by Chevron with Eni, Mubadala and Tharwa Petroleum, had confirmed the extension of the gas layers found by Narges 1 and added a new one, as set out earlier.
The two wells are not a like-for-like pair. Narges 2 reached a final depth of more than 5,000 metres and showed gas-bearing layers with net thickness of up to 35 metres.
Nassim-1X shows an estimated 15 metres of net pay in its producing layer, measured on a true vertical depth basis. Its evaluation, like that of Narges, continues.
The larger reference is Denise West, Eni’s discovery with bp, set out earlier. Eni estimated about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas initially in place at Denise West when it announced the find on 7 April, and repeated the figure on 25 August. On 3 November the ministry put the resources of the Denise find at an estimated 2 trillion cubic feet, with production targeted for 2028.
The Nassim-1X estimate of 200 billion cubic feet is one tenth of Eni’s figure. Both are in-place estimates, Eni’s for Denise West and the ministry’s for Nassim-1X, not volumes confirmed as recoverable.
Denise West also shows the pace Eni has set. Eni’s regional chief described the timeline at a conference in Alexandria on 20 October.
A commercial agreement was reached in August 2025, and drilling began 2 months later. Eni, he said, has worked in Egypt for more than 70 years and is its largest natural gas producer.
Three Mediterranean gas results in the ministry’s recent releases
| Well or find (operator) | Figure given | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Nassim-1X (Eni) | 200 bcf in place, prelim. | reserves study, 22 km tie-in |
| Narges 2 (Chevron) | net gas layers up to 35 m | evaluation |
| Denise West (Eni) | 2 tcf in place (Eni) | output targeted 2028 |
bcf is billion cubic feet; tcf is trillion cubic feet. Figures as stated in the ministry’s releases of 6 November, 24 October and 3 November 2026, and for the Denise West gas in place, Eni’s release of 7 April 2026; “prelim.” marks a preliminary estimate. The Nassim-1X and Denise West figures are both gas in place; the Narges 2 figure is a thickness, not a volume.
The ministry links the find to growing exploration in the concession areas and to a better investment climate, including the settlement of partner dues. It has said the arrears, an estimated $6.1 billion more than 2 years ago, have been settled in full.
Over the 2 years to June 2026, it said, Egypt recorded 113 discoveries, as set out earlier. That is an average of 4.7 a month.
What to watch:
After the reservoir studies: the ministry’s plan to develop and produce the Nassim-1X gas, with the recoverable reserves and the well’s production potential set.
2028: first production from the Denise find with bp, the target year the ministry gave on 3 November.
Figures are from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ statement of 6 November 2026 on the Nassim-1X well, and its releases of 24 October 2026 on Narges 2, 20 October 2026 on the MOC 2026 conference and 3 November 2026 on ADIPEC 2026, and from Eni’s releases of 7 April and 25 August 2026 on Denise West; the cubic metre conversion, ratios and averages not attributed to a source are The Edge’s calculations.
Sources: Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Eni, The Edge.
