The drilling results from Shell’s Sirius 1X exploratory well in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Egypt have shown encouraging initial indications, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said in an update.
The well is operated by Shell and the results increase the chances of developing new gas resources from the Sirius reservoir, with the possibility of an early development decision during 2027.
The ministry said the well, which reached its target depth of 2,115 meters, is the first exploratory well drilled by Shell in 2026 as part of the company’s plan to expand gas exploration and production activities in its concession areas in Egypt’s Mediterranean waters.
Shell began its multi-well drilling program in the area with the MinaWest2 and Sirius wells in the Northeast Amreya area earlier in 2026, using Stena Drilling’s Stena IceMax drillship.
Karim Badawi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, earlier followed drilling operations in the area as part of ongoing efforts to increase domestic natural gas production.
Shell and its partner Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, working with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), used geological and technical data obtained during drilling of the Mina West 2 well to support the Sirius 1X well, avoiding the need to drill an additional well to collect the data.
The discovery is planned to be connected to production by 2029 as a subsequent phase of the development of the Mina West field, which is currently underway.
Work continues to complete drilling of the Mina West 2 well in preparation for it to start production before the end of the year.
Shell’s four-well campaign includes the West Mena-1 and West Mena-2 development wells, which will be tied back to existing production facilities in the West Delta Deep Marine area.
The program also includes the Sirius exploration well in North East Amreya and the Velox well in the North Cleopatra area in the Herodotus Basin aimed at opening new prospects for gas discoveries.