The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and US energy technology and services company Halliburton have signed a cooperation agreement to conduct studies for a proposed program to drill 50 wells over 18 months in areas operated by the General Petroleum Company (GPC).

The program aims to increase Egypt’s domestic oil and gas production by applying advanced horizontal drilling and multistage hydraulic fracturing technologies to unlock resources that have been difficult or uneconomical to develop using conventional methods, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR).

The deal followed previous discussions between Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Halliburton at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi earlier this month to review the company’s ongoing study into applying horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies in Egypt.

Badawi commended the rapid translation of discussions into a practical agreement. He noted during the signing ceremony that adopting advanced drilling and production technologies is a key pillar of Egypt’s strategy to boost domestic oil and gas output and maximize the value of its hydrocarbon resources.

Halliburton’s CEO and Chairman, Jeff Miller, welcomed the cooperation, reaffirming the company’s commitment to providing its technical expertise and advanced technologies to support the proposed drilling program.

The deal builds on GPC’s recent success in applying hydraulic fracturing technology to produce natural gas from the Abu Rawash formation (ARF) at the NES-8 well in the Western Desert. Gas production from the well reached 3 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d).

Hydraulic fracturing is a well stimulation technique used to enhance the extraction of oil and gas from underground rock formations. The process involves injecting high-pressure fluid, typically a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals, into the reservoir rock. This creates small fractures, allowing hydrocarbons to flow more freely into the wellbore, thereby increasing production rates and improving resource recovery.

Horizontal drilling is a technique where a well is initially drilled vertically (or at an angle) from the surface and then curved horizontally to travel parallel within an oil or gas reservoir.