Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla chaired the general assemblies of Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) and Petro Shorouk Companies to review the firms’ operations during  fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

Petrobel’s CEO, Atef Hassan, stated that, due to the support the company received from its foreign partners and the ministry, Petrobel had been able to produce approximately 345,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe)—an achievement in the face of aging fields that produce less gas. Some of Petrobel’s gas fields, he noted, are up 70-years old.

The company invested approximately $693 million and drilled 27 wells in the Sinai, five wells in the Nile Delta, and one well in the Mediterranean.

Petrobel’s new discoveries in the Nidoco, Baltim, and Sinai concessions added an estimated 868 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas, 5 million barrels of condensates, and 1.6 million barrels of crude oil to the company’s known reserves.

It also produced 77,500 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil from its development projects in the Gulf of Suez.

Petro Shorouk has invested approximately $4 billion, Hassan noted, and has completed 85.5% of its projects. The company has drilled seven wells and has redoubled its construction efforts at its onshore treatment plant and offshore facilities at Port Said. The company is also constructing the offshore control platform for the Zohr gas field.