Egypt’s Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) has signed a contract with US-based oilfields services company SLB to conduct an ocean-bottom node (OBN) seismic survey covering 1,035 sq km in central and southern Gulf of Suez concession areas, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said October 25.

The ministry added that operations are scheduled to begin in November, with the survey aiming to identify new oil prospects, improve exploration success rates, and attract investment.

It described the project as the region’s largest of its kind using OBN technology, is part of efforts by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and UAE-based Dragon Oil, GUPCO’s investment partner, to expand exploration in the Gulf of Suez.

Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi said advanced technologies improve geological imaging, help identify promising exploration targets, increase exploratory drilling success rates, and reduce investment risks.

Badawi added that the new survey follows an earlier seismic campaign in the Gulf of Suez. He also credited the use of advanced technologies and Dragon Oil’s investment with helping raise GUPCO’s production to its highest level since 2019.

GUPCO Chairman Abdelwahab El-Maghawry said five exploratory wells drilled using OBN seismic data in GUPCO’s Gulf of Suez concession areas between 2022 and 2026 achieved an 80% success rate, compared with about 25% between 2017 and 2022, before the data was used. The wells also identified additional oil volumes, El-Maghawry added.

Egypt is expanding seismic survey activities in other areas. In the southern Western Desert, ongoing surveys cover more than 100,000 sq km west of Assiut and in Dakhla. The ministry is also preparing a survey covering about 110,000 sq km in the Western Desert near the Libyan border.

The initiatives complement Egypt’s offshore seismic survey program in the Eastern Mediterranean. The first phase covers about 18,000 sq km as part of a broader program targeting up to 95,000 sq km.

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is implementing the project with SLB and geoscience company Viridien to improve geological data, identify natural gas exploration prospects, and help direct investment toward promising areas.