Apache and Seagull Complete New Field Oil Discovery in Egypt Flowing 7,000 Barrels Per Day

Apache Corp. and Seagull Energy Corp., both of Houston, announced on Oct. 2 final completion results of significant new field oil discovery in Egypt's Western Desert. Each company owns a 50 percent share in the property, a concession in partnership with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp., the national oil company. The Beni Suef-1X discovery well on the East Beni Suef Concession flowed at a combined rate of approximately 7,000 barrels of oil per day on completion in the Kharita and Bahariya formations. Evaluations are under way to initiate early sales from the discovery through trucking and temporary production facilities.

During recent tests of a 79-foot interval in the Bahariya formation, perforated at approximately 6,700 feet, the well flowed 39.5-degree API gravity oil at a daily rate of 1,776 barrels per day. The flow rate was gauged on a one-inch choke with a flowing tubing pressure of 67 pounds per square inch (psi).

As previously reported, the 11,000-foot discovery well flowed 5,200 barrels of oil per day from a 40-foot interval in the deeper Kharita formation, perforated at approximately 7,000 feet. API oil gravity was 42 degrees. The zone was tested on a 48/64-inch choke with a flowing tubing pressure of 269 psi.

Two rigs have been contracted to drill three delineation wells before year end in the immediate vicinity of the discovery well, which establishes the southernmost production in the Western Desert. The well was drilled on a large structure, and seismic evaluations have identified similar structures on the 6.8-million-acre concession that will be drilled next year.