Egypt Announces Oil Discovery in Gulf of Suez

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced a significant new oil discovery in the Gulf of Suez, achieved by GUPCO, the joint operating company between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the UAE’s Dragon Oil.

In a statement issued Thursday, the ministry confirmed that the find resulted from the successful drilling of the Crystal Northeast Ramadan exploratory well. The well is expected to be brought onto the production map within days, with an estimated initial output of around 3,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The ministry highlighted that the discovery is part of a broader wave of oil and gas exploration activity in recent months. It was made possible through the use of Ocean Bottom Nodes (OBN) seismic imaging, one of the industry’s most advanced technologies.

According to the statement, OBN surveys enabled geologists to identify previously inaccessible offshore geological structures beneath the seabed, signaling fresh potential for future discoveries across the Gulf of Suez basin.

To accelerate production and reduce costs, the well was drilled and prepared for early output using the Al-Fanar platform, owned by EGPC. The ministry said leveraging existing infrastructure eliminated the need to construct a new offshore platform, demonstrating improved asset efficiency across Egypt’s petroleum sector.

The announcement comes as Egypt continues to face heightened economic pressures, including a weakening Egyptian pound and rising energy import needs, making domestic production gains increasingly valuable.