BP Hits Gas In The Baltim South Development Lease In Egypt

BP plc (LON:BP) (NYSE:BP) announced an important gas discovery in the Baltim South Development Lease in East Nile Delta.

Drilled in water depth of 25 meters by operator IEOC, a subsidiary of Eni SpA (E), the Baltim SW-1 exploration well touched a total depth of 3750 meters and penetrated about 62 meters of net gas pay in high quality Messinian sandstones.

Located 12 kilometers offshore, the discovery is a new accumulation with the same specifications as the Nooros field. Discovered in Jul 2015, the Nooros field presently has a production capacity of 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Further, appraisal activities will be required to ascertain the discovery’s full resource potential.

BP has a 50% stake in the Baltim South Development lease, while Eni holds the remaining 50%, through its subsidiary IEOC. The well was drilled by Petrobel, a joint venture between IEOC and the state partner Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

In recent years, a series of discoveries has been made by BP in Egypt. Some of them are Taurt North, Seth South and Salmon and Rahamat, Satis, Hodoa, Notus, Salamat and Atoll.

BP also has a stake of 33% in United Gas Derivatives Company (UGDC) – a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant extracting LPG and propane. The other partner is ENI/IEOC and GASCO (the Egyptian midstream gas distribution company).

BP is one of the world's major energy companies that provides its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemical products. Currently, the company reports mainly through four segments – Upstream, Downstream, Rosneft and Other Businesses and Corporate.

Currently, BP carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the oil and gas sector include CVR Refining, LP (NYSE:CVRR) , PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE:PTR) and Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) . All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).