CAIRO, March 6 (UPI) -- Dana Gas, the No. 6 natural gas producer in Egypt, said it started commercial production at two fields in the Nile Delta basin.
Dana announced commercial production began at its West Sama-1 and Allium-1 fields about two months after wells were first tested there. The company said the wells combined should add 20 million cubic feet per day to its annual production rate from Egypt.
"Dana Gas is well positioned to bring new discoveries on stream due to the onshore location of our assets where tie-ins to our existing pipelines and processing infrastructure can be made quickly, relatively inexpensively and ensures a high return on our new gas discoveries," Patrick Allman-Ward, general manager for the company in Egypt, said in a statement.
The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports that Egypt has more than 75 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. Increased domestic demand, however, is curtailing Egypt's export potential.
Dana said it planned to bring its Balsam-1 field in the region into commercial production during the second quarter of this year.
