Dana Gas, the Middle East’s first regional private-sector natural gas company, has announced an active drilling program for fifteen wells in Egypt in 2007 by its exploration and production subsidiary, Centurion Energy. Ten exploration and five development wells are planned, with target depths ranging from 1,000m to 4,000m. The company is currently the sixth highest gas producer in Egypt, and among the nine highest producing companies by production of barrels of oil equivalent (boe), out of the 64 companies that are active in Egypt’s oil & gas sector.
“As the first private-sector, regional natural gas company in the Middle East, Dana Gas’ stated goal from the outset, is to play a major role in all segments of the gas value chain as a truly integrated gas company. With over half the world’s gas reserves but a much smaller percentage of production, the region’s potential for development of the gas upstream is clear and necessary. As a company from the region, by the region, and for the region, Dana Gas has made a long-term commitment to play its part in helping the region’s resource-holders to develop their gas reserves for the benefit of their local economies and societies.” said Rashid Saif Al-Jarwan, General Manager of Dana Gas.
He added: “Today we are reaffirming our commitment to making further investments in the natural gas industry to benefit from the capabilities of Centurion, in the exploration and production field. In addition to investing to maximize the potential of our Egyptian assets, Dana Gas will soon be expanding into exploration & production activities in other countries in the region, and we are currently pursuing a number of opportunities of this type, in addition to other gas-related projects across the Middle East.”
Dr. Hany Elsherkawi, President and General Manager of Centurion Egypt, stressed that the company has achieved some important operational milestones recently, including the first LPG sales from its newly commissioned El Wastani LPG plant with capacity of 160 million cubic feet per day, and stating: ”Our goal behind the drilling and exploration programme is to maximize the potential of the shallow horizons in Abu Madi zones, while proceeding with the exploration of the high potential in the deeper Sidi Salem and Oligocene horizons, which are currently a focus of high interest across the Egyptian gas sector, both onshore and offshore”; adding: “The Egyptian gas sector has been growing rapidly, with a major domestic market and successful gas exports through LNG projects, and proven reserves doubling in the last five years to 70 trillion cubic feet.”
Dana Gas acquired Centurion Energy in a US$ 950 million deal that cements its important position in the upstream exploration and production sector for natural gas in the Middle East. Centurion ended 2006 with estimated gas reserves of approximately 100 million boe, gas production of over 31,000 boe/ day, and operating cash flows of approximately US $90 million. Dana Gas will also benefit from Centurion’s further exploration potential of 26,300 square kilometers in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, and has been approached by several of the major international energy companies for potential collaboration in this area.
In addition, Dana Gas benefits from its access to a team of over 150 highly skilled multidisciplinary management and technical staff, plus over 80 operations staff, with a proven track record in finding, developing, and producing natural gas reserves in the Middle East region.
DanaGas (PJSC) is the first regional private-sector natural gas company in the Arabian Gulf Region, established in late 2005 with over 300 reputable founder shareholders from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, and some 300,000 investors from over 100 nationalities worldwide who submitted applications of over US$78 billion over ten days in the company’s regional IPO in late 2005. Headquartered in Sharjah in the UAE and with offices opening throughout the region and its shares listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Market (ADSM), Dana Gas with its subsidiaries and affiliates hold substantial assets in the transportation by pipeline, processing, and marketing of natural gas within the UAE, and aims to play a major role in the rapidly-growing natural gas business throughout the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Region across the entire gas value chain. In addition to its current projects, Dana Gas will be expanding into all elements of the natural gas value-chain, including upstream exploration and production; through the midstream transmission and distribution of gas including LNG trading; and downstream into gas-related industries and petrochemicals.
