• Egypt said new wells could add about 47 million cubic feet of gas per day and 4,300 barrels per day of oil and condensates.

• The discoveries span mature basins in the Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and Nile Delta.

• The finds come as Egypt resumes LNG imports to cover a widening gap between gas supply and demand.

Publicly available data show that Egypt faces rising energy demand alongside significant constraints on production and marketing infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced several new hydrocarbon discoveries across the country. The State Information Service (SIS), Egypt’s official media arm, disclosed the announcement on Friday, January 16, 2026.

The official statement said exploration drilling followed by initial production tests delivered the discoveries. Operators conducted the work in several mature petroleum provinces, including the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert, and the Nile Delta. Authorities said the tests allowed them to assess production potential across the sites.

“The new wells should add around 47 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and nearly 4,300 barrels per day of crude oil and condensates to Egypt’s daily production,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said, based on ongoing evaluations. The ministry said some wells have already connected to existing facilities, while others still require additional tie-in work.

An Energy System Under Strain

These new hydrocarbon discoveries come as Egypt resumed liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in 2024 after several years of self-sufficiency, as domestic output declined.

In 2025, authorities signed agreements with Shell and TotalEnergies to purchase about 60 LNG cargoes worth an estimated $3 billion to supply the domestic market.

According to the French Treasury, national gas production stood at about 4.3 billion cubic feet per day in early 2025, while consumption reached an estimated 6.2 billion cubic feet per day.

Data from the International Trade Administration show that Egypt holds proven reserves of about 64.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 3.3 billion barrels of oil. In 2024, the country produced about 550,000 barrels of oil per day.

Authorities had already announced several onshore hydrocarbon discoveries in the Western Desert last week. Those discoveries involved four wells, where initial tests showed combined flows of about 4,500 barrels of oil per day and 2.6 million cubic feet of gas per day.

This article was initially published in French by Abdel-Latif Boureima

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum