Egypt is initiating a wide-scale seismic survey covering approximately 110,000 square kilometers in the western Western Desert near the border with Libya. Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi announced the Western Desert seismic survey initiative during a meeting with executive leadership from domestic and international energy firms.
Contract Award and Survey Scope
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources awarded the Western Desert seismic survey contract to Saudi Arabia-based Ardiseis, an entity specializing in seismic acquisition services, following a competitive tender. Minister Badawi noted that the initiative forms part of Egypt’s broader strategy to expand exploration frontiers and provide updated subsurface data to assist investors in evaluating new prospects. This initiative aligns with broader operational commitments, including nine seismic surveys announced in July 2026 across areas such as West Assiut and the Eastern Mediterranean, backed by foreign investment commitments exceeding $17 billion over five years.
Exploration Metrics and Drilling Commitments
Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation CEO Salah Abdel Kerim outlined recent operational achievements, stating that 149 exploration wells were drilled over the past two fiscal years. These operations led to 112 new discoveries, comprising 88 crude oil finds and 24 natural gas discoveries, including the Denis offshore gas discovery located in Port Said.
Abdel Kerim added that during fiscal years 2024/25 and 2025/26, Egypt completed 19 exploration and production agreements featuring minimum investments of $823.1 million, signature bonuses of $93.5 million, and commitments to drill 134 wells. An additional 13 agreements are in preparation, involving investments exceeding $1 billion and commitments to drill 120 wells.
Entity Operational Performance
Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company Executive Managing Director Sayed Selim stated that drilling activity rose from two wells in FY 2020/21 to 15 wells in FY 2025/26, while discoveries increased from one to ten over the same period. During FY 2025/26, the company awarded 11 new exploration areas and signed five agreements to support operations in the Mediterranean Sea and Nile Delta.
South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) Chairman Samir Raslan reported that company production reached approximately 33,000 barrels per day in FY 2025/26 following the drilling of 33 development and 11 exploration wells. The company is currently executing a 100,000-square-kilometer Egypt seismic survey program south of the Western Desert, with processed data expected by year-end to assist future Egypt oil exploration opportunities.
Under its active five-year plan, the company aims to drill 36 exploration wells backed by $177 million in investments, with potential expansion to 60 wells following the awarding of 20 new areas. It also plans on offering 17 strategic investment opportunities in promising area. Ganope is also targeting production levels of 44,000 barrels per day in FY 2026/27 and 65,000 barrels per day by FY 2030/31.
The Western Desert seismic survey project aims to build a modern geological and geophysical database to encourage petroleum investments in an unexplored area that represents roughly 11% of Egypt’s total territory and has no prior history of petroleum activities.
