Badr El Din Petroleum Company (Bapetco) plans to add 40 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to reserves and increase production by 22,000 boe of crude oil, natural gas and condensates in fiscal year (FY) 2019/20, company Head Salah Abdel Kerim said, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

The company will drill 71 new exploratory and development wells in FY 2019/20, Abdel Kerim said, during the general assembly chaired by Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla, to review the company’s budget plan in 2019/20.

During FY 2018/19, Bapetco produced 130,000 boe per day (boe/d) from its fields in the Western Desert. Also, the company has successfully added 36 million boe to reserves so far, compensating 100% of what had been produced.

The company’s current production rates reached 470 million standard cubic feet (mmscf/d) of natural gas, 40,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil, and 10,000 b/d of condensates.

The company has improved its health, safety and environment (HSE) standards, and adopted a cost reduction program that has saved $14.5 million without affecting performance.