The average production of Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) has exceeded a record 803,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) for the first time in its history during July, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

Meanwhile, the company’s production totaled around 358,000 boe/d in fiscal year (FY) 2018/19, with 1.475 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) of gas, 70,000 barrels per day (b/d) of oil, 14,000 b/d of condensates, and about 274 tons per day of butane, according to the report presented to the Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, by the Head of Petrobel, Atef Hassan.

The report also showed that a marine production platform was and manufactured and installed at the Baltim South West Field, three months ahead of schedule. Moreover, an 18-kilometer (km) offshore pipeline with a 26-inch diameter was completed, alongside a 25-km onshore pipeline, with the same diameter, with the first well set to be completed and begin production in the coming days.

Five more wells are planned to be drilled in the Baltim South West Field during FY 2019/20 to raise output to 500 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) of gas, and 5,000 b/d of condensates, according to a ministry statement.

Investments of $1.21 billion were pumped in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) activities, of which $691 million were directed towards development operations, and $331 million for operating costs, saving 11% while maintaining the same levels of production, thus reducing costs by around 10% per barrel of oil equivalent (boe).

Petrobel also successfully drilled the Sidri-23 well in the Rudeis-Sidri development lease, adding new reserves of 8 million barrels of oil. After successfully linking the well to the existing production facilities a broader plan was set to increase production, further studies are being conducted to raise the area’s production to about 4,000 b/d by drilling more development wells and using the hydraulic fracturing technique.

El Qar’a exploration lease in the Nile Delta concession area witnessed another success for Petrobel, the statement noted, as the company drilled El Qaraa (North-East 1) well that is expected to help restore production in the field, which has been halted since 2014, to around 20 mscf/d.

Moreover, Petrobel is working to increase production recovery, and maintain high production from the Nooros field, while capitalizing on the capacities of gas treatment plants, through the establishment of a $300-million pipeline, at a 130-km length and and 32-inch diameter, to link Nooros with El Gamil plant in Port Said. The pipeline was inaugurated in May, seven months ahead of schedule.