Fortifying endurance while delivering excellence is one of the key elements of success within the energy industry, especially during challenging times. To say that Mediterra Energy Corporation is a living example of overcoming obstacles would be an understatement.
Established in Calgary in 2012, Mediterra Energy Corporation is a Canadian energy firm working in the international upstream oil and gas industry, specifically focused on the exploration and development potential in the Middle East and Africa. Mediterra Energy Corporation is part of the Woitas Group of Companies and is the first international company in the Group.
Since its establishment, Mediterra adopts a strategy that seeks to use innovative and unique approaches in E&P, which is especially important for extracting oil in various types of challenging reservoirs. It is a methodology that has laid the foundations for the company’s success in all the regions it has worked in.
As one of the most active E&Ps in Egypt over the past few years, Mediterra’s drilling activities in the hydrocarbon-rich nation were never hindered whether by the pandemic or even the historic dip that oil prices took in 2020.
With Egypt moving towards being a regional energy hub, Mediterra was quick to move in on the action by creating a diverse asset portfolio within the country. These assets include the Sudr, Asl, Matarma development leases (100% operated working interest); Al Baraka and WAB Development Leases (with 100% operated working interest in light oil production within Komombo concession); Block 7 and 8 (with 40% working interest in 5.6 million acres of exploration land which surrounds the Al Baraka and WAB development leases). For Komombo, the company has drilled the first horizontal well in Upper Egypt and believes that intensifying investment in this strategic region is the key element that can unlock its true potential.
The company is the operator of two contracts with the Egyptian government, which have some of the best fiscal terms in Egypt and the MENA region. This includes a service agreement (SMA) and a product-sharing contract for Komombo. SMA involves a cluster of three fields and multi-year development opportunities while the product-sharing agreement involves the Al Baraka and West Al Baraka development leases.
As a key player in the Egyptian market, the secret to the company’s success in sustaining production growth lies in its continued drilling activities and robust performance even with the challenge of commodity cycles. Mediterra Energy Corporation has drilled more than 140 new wells in the Sinai and Komombo regions within the past four years.
Drilling operations are taking place at an accelerated pace and are currently at their highest level with 6-7 new wells per month using three drilling rigs and three workover rigs. Production has also witnessed significant growth surpassing 15,000 bbl/d.
Mediterra Energy Corporation has also been provided with the support of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, in addition to its relevant bodies to boost the capital program of assets in the Sinai including Sudr, Asl, and Matarma Oil Fields (“SMA”). This support has also contributed to new oil pool discoveries in Upper Egypt (Komombo).
In their concessions, Mediterra adopts a special approach, where they assume that “No easy Oil” is left so they try to build economies of scale with new approaches and technologies. They also tend to bring the Canadian approach of extracting oil from difficult and different types of reservoirs.
In line with the company’s aggressive drilling and production growth targets, the company has secured over 1,000 military approvals for future wells and an additional +200 well locations are in the process of being approved.
There have also been continuous meetings between the Ministry and members of the company’s board to explore ways to enhance cooperation and ensure that the company’s expertise in the oil & gas field can be exploited in the best way possible. Last February, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla met with a delegation from Mediterra Energy Corporation to discuss E&P and follow up on the company’s business operations in its concession areas, including Kom Ombo and Sinai.
During the meeting, the Ministry was briefed on the updates on the company’s business activities in the Kom Ombo concession areas (Al-Baraka and West Al-Baraka) in cooperation with GANOPE. They also discussed their activities in Sudr, Matarma, and ASL in Sinai, where they are collaborating closely with the General Petroleum Company (GPC).
In that meeting, El Molla praised Mediterra Energy Corporation for its role as an essential partner of the Egyptian energy sector due to its push to excel in operational results. He referred to the impressive outcome of drilling activities in its concession areas in cooperation with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE).
El Molla described Mediterra as a key contributor in helping the Egyptian petroleum sector intensify E&P activities since the Egyptian government has put emphasis on efforts to secure more discoveries while increasing local production.
Mediterra’s delegation also updated the minister about their commitment and plans for increased investment in Egypt and continue their growth. As a long-term goal, Mediterra seeks to accomplish a sustainable production of >20,000 bbl/d and 2P reserves of >100 million barrels through the drill-bit.
Being one of the most active operators in Egypt, they have more than 450 development locations that are helping realize their corporate goal.
