The Dutch company Shell and the American Apache have agreed with the Ministry of Petroleum on the price of the gas in the limestone layers at Apollonia field in the Western Desert. The new agreement decided on $4.6 per 1m thermal units instead of $2.9, Daily News Egypt reported. The gas proven reserves in the limestone layers in Apollonia field are estimated  at approximately 700bcf.

After 19 days of work, Apache completed the drilling of the two horizontal wells in Apollonia field, with a estimated cost of $3m and each, according to a prominent source at the Ministry of Petroleum cited by the newspaper. On his side, Shell completed the drilling of three vertical wells with the aim of collecting the information needed for designing the horizontal wells.

Shell and Apache are targeting to expand their search for gas in irregular sources and in their concession areas in the Western Desert. That is if the experiment in Apollonia field succeeds, the source said. The budget approved for this joint project was estimated at $23m. The operations are carried out by Khalda Petroleum in cooperation with Badr El Din Petroleum Company (BAPETCO).

Egypt is seeking new investments in natural gas to help alleviate an energy shortage that led to lower production at factories last summer, and to reduce bills for imported liquefied natural gas, Bloomberg wrote.