Egypt will start the seismic survey for the Gulf of Suez region before the end of 2018, in order to provide new opportunities for exploration and production (E&P), an official source at the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, told Amwal Al Ghad.

Most of the E&P activities in the Gulf of Suez are based on seismic surveys that were conducted years ago. Updating the Gulf of Suez surveys, as well as those of the Red Sea, may enable the sector to discover new hydrocarbon deposits, the source pointed out.

The oil and gas sector is keen to use the new discoveries to increase the capacity of Egyptian refineries from the current 38 million tons. The ministry aims to boost the refining capacity through expanding the Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR), and starting operations at the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC)’s refinery before the end of 2018.