Khalda Petroleum Company, partnering with international energy firm Apache, has optimized oil and gas well drilling operations in the Western Desert, resulting in a cost reduction of $3 million and the connection of 110 wells.

Khalda revealed these performance improvements during a workshop organized by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), noting that it reduced the average drill pipe connection time from 24 minutes to 18 minutes, with some wells recording 12.5 minutes. This was translated into a cumulative time saving of 60 days during 2024.

In the first half of 2025, the company built on this momentum by drilling 54 wells with an additional 15%-time efficiency gain compared to 2024. This yielded a further 180-day reduction in overall drilling time and over $15 million in cost savings.

Khalda affirmed continuing this path in 2026, to reduce connection time to just 12 minutes.

The company applied innovative technologies and techniques in cooperation with the  International advisory and accounting firm HLB, as well as global energy technology companies SLB and Baker Hughes, particularly in optimizing pipe connection procedures and well path surveying.