Cairo — Mubasher: The investment budget of Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC) in the first half of 2019 and fiscal year 2019/2020 amounted to $468 million, the firm’s chairman said on Thursday.

These investments include a plan to expedite development operations at the fourth well of offshore Atoll gas field to step up production to 400 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d), Hassan Abadi added in a statement.

The investment scheme also involves the development of Katameya well in the North Damietta East Delta marine concession and implementing its tie-up to the production facilities of the Mediterranean Sea fields Hapi and Tort to produce 60 mcf/d, the statement noted.

PhPC also seeks to complete development activities at South Seth well in a bid to step up its gas output to 40 mcf/d, it added.

The firm, which is a joint venture between the state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the UK's BP, has managed to maintain its production at around 105,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D) from Atoll and Ras El Bar fields.

PhPC is working on completing a condensate treatment plant and a 7-kilometre pipeline to link with the national gas grid through Al-Jameel gas treatment plant, along with setting up an additional offshore cable extending from the onshore plant to Atoll field.

Moreover, the EGPC-BP joint venture plans to drill a new exploratory well in East Osiris, Ras Al Bar concession, as well as conduct 3D seismic processing to 1,250 km at the North Damietta concession.

The statement came on the sidelines of the general assembly of Gupco and the PhPC presided over by petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla to endorse the 2019/2020 budget.