Apache, Shell to Drill First Shale Gas Pilot Well in Egypt This Month

Apache Corporation and Shell expect to begin producing shale gas from its first pilot well in Egypt by June this year, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The partners will start drilling Egypt’s first unconventional gas well in a pilot project by the end of March, Apache Egypt Region Vice President and General Manager Thomas Maher told Bloomberg in an interview.

In December 2014, Egypt signed a deal with Apache Corporation and Shell Egypt to extract unconventional hydrocarbons by fracking in the Western region. The ministry hopes that this project will open up new horizons for the Western Desert region for the production of unconventional gas.

Shell, as operator, holds a 52 percent interest in the project, and Apache has 48 percent.