Texas, US-based IPR Energy Group (IPR) has made an oil discovery with its West AY-1X exploration well onshore Egypt, and the operator is already considering further wells to exploit the same sand.

The successful wildcat tested and produced from a new formation — Kharita — in Alamein-44, adding an incremental 2850 barrels per day of oil to the Yidma-Alamein Western Desert Development Lease. West AY-1X was drilled to a depth of 13,166 feet, utilising a 1500 HP drilling rig.

This deep multi-target exploration well in the Yidma-Alamein concession encountered 33 feet of perforated interval in the Basal Middle Bahariya (BMB) sand. The well was lifted by coil tubing/nitrogen, then placed on production with an electric submersible pump (ESP) at a rate of 703 bpd of oil. IPR is currently evaluating the option for additional BMB sand development offset wells to West AY-1X.

During the same active exploitation campaign, well Alamein-44 was recompleted into a fractured carbonate attic oil zone in the Alamein Dolomite formation, just 25 metres from the original 1966 field discovery well (Alamein-1X), which has already produced 13.8 million barrels of crude. A five feet interval was perforated at the top of the Dolomite section and produced at a stable net rate of 2147 bpd of 33 degrees API gravity oil, confirming the presence of attic oil throughout this prolific formation. IPR said this “unique high-rate recompletion” would be placed on ESP when natural flow ceases.

Both West AY-1X and Alamein-44 will be produced through the existing El Hamra Oil Company production facilities, after an active year of drilling and workovers carried out during 2023 to reverse the historical natural decline at the mature field. Plans for 2024 include six deep and shallow wells and 12 workovers/recompletions. IPR noted this is the first time in the long history of this concession that ESPs are being employed for artificial lifting.

“Fiscal year 2024/2025 represents a major milestone in the life of the A/Y concession with the average daily production expected to exceed 6000 bpd, surpassing the average for FY2023/2024 by about 50%, commented IPR chief executive Mahmoud K Dabbous.

“Alamein is a classic example of innovative reservoir management and exploitation practices.”

IPR Energy Group describes itself as “a consortium of multi-faceted companies” worldwide with onshore and offshore operated and non-operated exploration and production acreage, which also provides technology packages of engineering, geoscience studies and enhanced oil recovery field development.