L. Fituni, I. Abramova Resource Potential of Africa and Russia's ...

The second LUKOIL project in Egypt is the Meleiha field development
in the Libyan Desert, carried out jointly with Italian
ENI-Agip. Residual field reserves are about 3 mln tons. Field production
fluctuates between 600 and 700 thousand tons. Oil production
forecast for 2003 is 656 thousand tons. The LUKOIL share in
the concession is currently 12%. In July 2003 the Egyptian Ministry
of Petroleum and LUKOIL signed a concession agreement on
exploration of the Northeast Geisum and West Geisum off-shore
blocks in the Suez Gulf. Seven promising structures have been discovered
with total area of more than 175 square km. An exploration
program is planned over 4 years, including 3D seismic work
and drilling of 8 exploratory wells. The minimal initial investment
program for exploration is $27.8 mln. Exploration work on these
new blocks will facilitate integration of infrastructures with nearby
WEEM, giving a synergy effect. The amount of oil extracted and
exported from Egypt by LUKOIL amounted to 600,000 tons, in
2009. 45
In 2008, the second largest Russian gas company Novatek
started exploration and drilling for gas in Egypt. One year before
that it had bought 50% in a concession agreement for oil and gas
exploration and development of the El-Arish offshore deposit from
Tharwa Petroleum S.A.E. The other 50% are held by Egypt's
Tharwa Petroleum. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The offshore block with an area of approximately 2,300 sq km (888
sq miles) is located along the Mediterranean coast to the north of the
Sinai. Half of the block lies at depths of up to 50 meters (164 ft)
with the remaining area reaching up to 500 meters (1,640 ft). The
agreement provides for a minimum exploration period of four years,
which will include geophysical studies and the drilling of two wells.
Under the deal, Novatek, Russia's largest independent gas producer,
can extend the exploration period to nine years if preliminary results
require further study. The concession agreement provides for a 20-
year development period for each commercial discovery with a possible
five-year extension. Until 2010, Novatek remained a relatively
small player inside Russia, with only 4% of country’s gas production
and a geographically concentrated reserve base. Gazprom holds
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