The Western Desert Operating Petroleum Company (WEPCO) announced that it targets an increase in oil production rates by 120% to reach 6,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) during the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stated in a press release.

This came during a meeting headed by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla to approve the planning budgets of WEPCO and Badr Petroleum Company (Bapetco) for FY 2022/23.

WEPCO’s Chairman Ibrahim Masoud elaborated that this target will be achieved after drilling five exploratory and developmental wells in addition to completing another six with investments worth $28 million.

For his part, El Molla has urged to continue working on increasing the rates of oil production and reserves, especially after Badr-1 field has become fully owned by the state. Also, the minister stressed the necessity of accelerating the implementation of the new expansion plan for El Hamra port as one of the most important petroleum ports in Al Alamein region.

He added that this expansion plan will help in the state’s development and construction strategy for Al Alamein through implementing two major projects. They include the establishment of warehouses at the port over an area of 120 feddans, in addition to the establishment of a petroleum trading zone over an area of 420 feddans which will serve the national initiative of converting Egypt into a regional hub for trading petroleum products.

Furthermore, El Molla praised the progress made in developing the infrastructure to supply the western region and Al Alamein with the needed fuel for the states’ development strategy.