Dana Gas said that it has begun production from the recent gas and condensate Al Basant discovery in the West Manzala Concession in the Nile Delta region of Egypt.
According to the company, the Al Basant-1 well was discovered in October 2008 and tested at a rate of 23.5 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) gas and 1,027 barrels per day of condensate. The Al Basant-2 appraisal well was subsequently drilled, completed, and tested in December 2008 and additional gas was discovered in a new zone which tested at 10.5mmscfd of gas and 150 barrels per day of condensate.
The Al Basant field gas reserves are currently estimated to exceed 123 billion cubic feet (bcf). A third well, in the field is planned to reach an estimated target field production of 45mmscfd before year end, said the oil company.
The Al Basant discovery was developed on a fast track project with two pipelines; six-inch and 12-inch, 17.5km each, to transport Al Basant production to the El Wastani integrated gas plant which has a design capacity of 160mmscfd and 7,500bpd of condensate and liquefied petroleum gas, respectively.
Furthermore the company said that, the El Wastani plant is currently operating at 153mmscfd gas and 5,400bpd of condensate and liquefied petroleum gas. The new gas production from Al Basant will allow testing the plant beyond its full design capacity and identifying the components that require modification, or upgrading, to maximize throughput while targeting production levels of 170mmscfd.
