Badr El Din Petroleum (Bapetco) is preparing to carry out Egypt’s largest multistage hydraulic fracturing operation at the Obaiyed H18 horizontal gas well in the Western Desert, aiming to revive production from a well experiencing natural decline and support domestic gas output, according to a Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources statement.
During a site visit, Ishaq Saad, Head of the Ministry’s Central Administration for Crude Oil Production and Supervisor of Gas Production, reviewed the technical preparations and final arrangements. He was accompanied by Khaled Abdel Salam, Chairman of Bapetco; Alaa Hatata, the company’s Operations and Projects General Manager; and ministry production officials.
Bapetco presented the technical study and execution plan developed over several months. Drilled in 2019, the Obaiyed H18 well has a total depth of approximately 5,630 meters and a horizontal section extending more than 1,600 meters.
The operation will involve six consecutive hydraulic fracturing stages designed to improve connectivity between the wellbore and gas-bearing formations, potentially enhancing production performance.
The execution plan comprises three phases. The first, involving well preparation using a drilling rig, has been completed. The second will involve the six-stage fracturing operation without a drilling rig, using a rigless system to improve operational efficiency. The final phase will involve completing the well using a workover rig.
Halliburton, the service provider carrying out the operation, has confirmed the availability of the required equipment and technical preparations. These include 18 high-pressure pumps with a combined hydraulic horsepower exceeding 40,000. Execution is expected to begin in the coming days.
The operation is expected to advance the application of multistage hydraulic fracturing in horizontal wells in Egypt’s petroleum sector, potentially creating further opportunities to improve recovery from existing wells and support domestic gas production.
Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation technique that injects fluid at high pressure into underground rock formations to create or extend fractures, allowing trapped oil or natural gas to flow more readily into a well. In multistage operations, the technique is applied to several sections of a well to improve contact with the producing formation.
Bapetco is a joint venture (JV) between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and investment partners Cheiron and Capricorn Energy. Its exploration and production activities focus on Egypt’s Western Desert and include development of the Obaiyed area, which hosts one of the country’s major onshore gas fields.
