Royal Dutch Shell will start production at the 9B phase of the West Nile Delta (WND) project during Q3 2018, stated a source at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), according to Arab Finance.

The 9B phase will start with an initial capacity of 100 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) of natural gas, reported Youm7.

Two of the 9B wells are set to be linked to production during Q3 and Q4 2018, while one well will be linked in Q1 2019, as part of the first stage of the 9B phase project.

In the second stage of the project, the company will link five wells during Q3 and Q4 2019, and will drill a second exploratory well after analyzing the results of the first exploratory well currently being drilled.

Shell started drilling the first exploratory well, Sapphire Southeast 1 well, on April 20.