Abu Gharadiq

Commentary

The basin remains attractive, and EGPC's reduction of payment arrears with IMF and Gulf support is encouraging new exploration commitments in the Western Desert. Without an automatic payment mechanism for crude lifted, arrears remain a risk. Outlook: Neutral.

Updated

October 4, 2026

Location

Description

The Abu Gharadiq Basin in the Western Desert (NW Egypt) is a mature hydrocarbon province with over 95% of the oil and gas fields in the Upper Cretaceous Abu Roash, Bahariyah and Kharita sandstone reservoirs. Many wells had penetrated the thick Lower Cretaceous Alam el Bueib sandstone reservoir but no significant discoveries were made. This led most operators to believe that there was very little prospectivity at deeper levels, in particular in the Jurassic Safa sandstones overlying the Palaeozoic basement.

Summary

Exploration successes have been limited up to 2002, which has meant that the Basin is still relatively under explored. However, exploration successes post-2002 have provided renewed impetus to the basin's competition for acreage.