Ghana Expects More Gas Production From Egypt

New natural gas production should come from Egypt by the end of the year, SDX Energy said after announcing a new gas discovery on Monday.

The company said it found natural gas at a site in the South Disouq license dubbed SD-4X. Paul Welch, the president and CEO at SDX, said the new find would eventually be tied into existing infrastructure, where production is scheduled for late in the fourth quarter.

"These results demonstrate the significant potential we see in this area," he said in a statement emailed to UPI. "We are extremely encouraged by today's result at South Disouq."

In January 2017, SDX Energy paid $28.1 million to take over the Egyptian and Moroccan businesses of Circle Oil. Welch said his company was well funded with zero debt and on pace to double its production from its North African portfolio by the end of the year.

SDX posted revenue on March 31 of $11 million, up 35 percent from the same period last year.

Egypt is quickly positioning itself as a major player in the natural gas market. Italian Energy Company Eni started production from a third unit at the Zohr field, one of the largest gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea, in May. The project is producing about 1.1 billion cubic feet per day and the acceleration followed a start date in December.

The Central Bank of Egypt said gross domestic production in September, the last full month for which it published data, grew by about 5.7 percent. Natural gas contributed 0.6 percent to that.

The bank said improvements in the industrial sector were led primarily by natural gas extraction.