British oil and gas major BP has commenced gas production from Atoll Phase One, an offshore gas project that has been developed with an investment of about $1 billion in Egypt.

Located in the North Damietta block in the East Nile Delta, the offshore gas project has been completed seven months earlier than expected and 33% below the initially estimated cost, said BP.

Currently, the Atoll Phase One project is giving a production of 350 million cubic feet of gas a day (mmscfd) along with 10,000 barrels a day (bpd) of condensate. The produced gas from the new offshore gas project is linked to the Egyptian national grid.

Commenting on the Atoll Phase One project milestone, Bob Dudley – the CEO of BP, said: “BP is focused on delivering growth with discipline, carefully choosing and efficiently executing high-quality projects. The longstanding partnerships we have in Egypt allowed us to fast-track Atoll’s development and deliver first gas only 33 months after discovery.

“This is a further demonstration of our commitment to help realise Egypt’s oil and gas potential and meet the increasing demand from its growing population.”

The Atoll discovery was made in March 2015 by BP which estimates that the primary reservoir of the Atoll gas field to hold 1.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas along with 31 million barrels of condensates.

According to BP, the Atoll Phase One project saw the original exploration well recompleted as a producing well and the drilling of two more production wells between August 2015 and February 2017.

The gas produced from the Atoll Phase One project is sent to the existing onshore West Harbor gas processing plant.

Commenting on the Atoll Phase One project, Hesham Mekawi – Regional President, BP North Africa, said: “Atoll is our first major project in Egypt to be delivered in 2018, following the West Nile Delta Taurus and Libra project and then Zohr last year.

“We are extremely proud of Atoll’s efficient execution through our joint venture, the Pharaonic Petroleum Company. Delivering this project at such an unprecedented pace, less than two years after sanction, and with an impeccable safety record is a tremendous achievement.”

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  Atoll Phase One, BP, East Nile Delta, Egypt, Offshore gas project, Oil and gas news