Author: Rigs & Barge World

Egypt plans to drill 101 exploration wells this year though, as is usually the case with Cairo’s grandiose announcements, details and context are thin. This is broadly in line with 2025, when around 100 wells were drilled. This is the first year of a major $5.7bn exploration campaign through which Egypt plans to drill some 480 exploration wells over the next five years, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi announced in October. (CONTINUED – 1637 WORDS) Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years of energy analysis and news Delve into the details backed by data Exclusive information from high-level…

Dana Gas, the Middle East’s largest private sector natural gas company, has received a $50 million payment from the Egyptian government, reducing overdue receivables, according to a press release issued by the company on January 5, 2026. This payment supports the company’s ongoing drilling program under the consolidation agreement signed with Egypt in December 2024. It optimized fiscal terms and designated additional acreage for exploration to incentivize new upstream investment in the Nile Delta and Mediterranean regions. Since the program commenced, Dana Gas has drilled four wells that added approximately 18 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of production…

Operating companies in the Gulf of Suez region held a workshop at the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) headquarters to discuss strategies for improving performance and reducing well drilling costs. The initiative aligns with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ (MoPMR) strategy and directives from Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. During a recent inspection of the Belayim offshore 133 well in the Gulf of Suez, the minister emphasized the necessity of enhancing drilling efficiency and lowering expenditures, according to a statement by MoPMR. Salah Abdel Kerim, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), highlighted…

Opec+ is entering 2026 with the ‘Group of Eight’ holding production quotas steady for Q1. A decision on output policy for April is likely to be made in March. The parallels with the two previous years are clear, with the Group of Eight having entered both 2024 and 2025 with deep voluntary cuts in place for Q1. The question for oil markets is whether this year will be like 2024, when the cuts were ultimately extended by a full year, or more like 2025 when the Group of Eight defied expectations by accelerating the unwinding of 2mn b/d of voluntary…

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR) has signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Syrian Ministry of Energy to supply Syria with natural gas, petroleum products, and technical expertise. The MoUs were signed on the sidelines of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi’s meeting with a high-level Syrian delegation, headed by Deputy Minister of Energy for Oil Affairs Ghiath Diab, according to a statement by MoPMR. The first MoU establishes a framework for supplying natural gas to Syria for electricity generation, utilising Egypt’s national gas transmission network and Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs). The…

The Houthis’ campaign against maritime traffic in the southern Red Sea shone a spotlight on an often overlooked but critical region. But while the wholesale diversion of global shipping from the Red Sea since early 2024 attracted global attention, few focused on the continuing build out of military bases and commercial assets by a host of foreign powers in the region. The Houthi campaign is now on hold, yet recent events show that tensions continue to simmer on both flanks of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Indeed, the effective neutering of Iran’s overseas influence by Israel in 2025…

The Trump administration plans to meet later this week with US oil company executives to discuss boosting natural gas and oil production in Venezuela following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The talks are central to Washington’s efforts to reintegrate major US producers into Venezuela, where the government seized control of foreign-led energy operations nearly 20 years ago. Despite the planned meeting, industry sources from ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron stated they have not yet held discussions with the White House regarding Venezuelan operations, contradicting recent claims from the administration. “Nobody in those…

Following the capture of the Venezuelan president and his wife, President Trump suggested during his first press conference that the United States would run the country. This off-the-cuff remark created significant ambiguity and left senior administration officials struggling to elaborate on the president’s official position.Meanwhile, the crisis in Venezuela persists. Sporadic gunfire and unidentified drones were reported in Caracas last night, amid rumours of friction between the military and the new government led by former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. The ousted president, Nicolas Maduro, maintains a loyal following and is supported by government-sponsored armed gangs. Without alignment between the government…

Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, announced Monday the closing of the sale of its Precision Sensors & Instrumentation (PSI) product line to Crane Company. The transaction follows a divestiture agreement originally announced in July 2025. The PSI business includes the Druck, Panametrics, and Reuter-Stokes brands. These units provide precision measurement, sensing, and monitoring technologies used in energy, industrial, and aerospace applications. According to a Baker Hughes press release, the products are designed to deliver high-accuracy data for pressure, flow, natural gas, and radiation measurement in critical operating environments. Baker Hughes noted that this divestment, combined with the recently finalized…

Egypt LNG imports surged to a new all time high in 2025, with volumes more than tripling year-on-year to 8.92mn tons according to Kpler data. LNG imports only resumed in 2024 for the first time in four years, but the return has been turbocharged by the pace at which domestic production is declining. After importing 2.79mn tons in 2024 (including via Jordan’s import terminal), few envisioned last year’s surge to 8.92mn tons. The previous record was 7.53mn tons in 2016, and last year’s figure was up 19% on that. (CONTINUED – 881 WORDS) Read this article for free Gain access…