Shell has announced plans to invest $342 million in the drilling of 33 wells in its concession areas operated by Badr El Din Petroleum Company (BAPETCO).Among these 33 wells, 19 will be for developing gas production, 10 for the injection of water and the remaining 4 wells will be for exploring gas.

Between 2015 and 2016, Shell drilled a total of 32 wells in its concession areas also via BAPETCO and invested a total of $442 million in the operations. 25 of these wells were developmental wells, while the remaining 7 were exploratory wells.

The company has cut the number of its gas wells in its concession areas by three and reduced its overall budget for investments by $100m from the current financial year, due to the fact that the Egyptian government never pay back the value of the gas, Egypt Oil and Gas news reports.

Anita Fatunji