Egypt: oil and gas reserves up to 18 billion barrels

Egyptian reserves of oil and natural gas have risen to 18.3 billion barrels in (2009-2010) in what makes the proven reserves rise to 20 billion barrels in the next two years, Egyptian Petroleum Authority (EPA) said Saturday.

The report added that recently conducted global studies asserted that Egypt achieved in the last decade the highest rate of success on prospecting and exploration activities in Northern Africa region and that total reserves discovered of oil and natural gas exceed those found in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria combined.

It also affirmed that this hike in stockpiles that was achieved in the first decade of this century is due to sustained development of exploration and drilling programs and plans as well as expanding the search areas into various regions of Egypt whether the land or the marine ones.

The Mediterranean is one of the most attracting for foreign investment among world regions due to its huge probable reserves of natural gas and that both Mediterranean and Nile Delta regions contain unexplored reserves of natural gas estimated at 223 trillion cubic metres, it added in a reference to the reports issued by the U.S. Geological Survey last May.

Further, these reports pointed out that these two regions, namely the Mediterranean and the Nile Delta, have unexplored reserves of crude oil and condensates in what puts them on the list of the most important world regions regarding probable natural gas reserves.

Finally, the EPA report drew attentions to the significance of the oil agreements inked by Egypt with international major corporations at a value of USD 8 billion in (2009-2010) with the total value expected to be increased in the coming period following the announcement made by global oil firms on raising their investment in Egypt.