Apex discovers oil in Egypt’s Western Desert

Apex International Energy made an oil discovery in Southeast Meleiha Concession (SEM) in the Western Desert of Egypt.

The discovery was achieved at the SEMZ-11X well 10 km west of Zarif field, the nearest producing field. The well was drilled to 5,700 ft total depth and encountered 65 ft of oil pay in the Cretaceous sandstones of Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations. Testing of the Bahariya resulted in a peak rate of 2,100 b/d of oil with no water. Additional uphole pay exists in the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations that can be added to the production stream in the future.

SEMZ-11X was Apex’s second exploration well in an ongoing three-well program following the acquisition and processing of 1,342 sq km of 3D seismic data in 2019-2020. The first well, the SEMZ-1X drilled in December 2020, also discovered Bahariya oil with 17 ft of indicated pay. The well, 23 km west of Zarif field, was also drilled to 5,700 ft and tested at a rate of 100 b/ of oil. Apex plans to fracture stimulate the 1X in the future to increase the producing rate.

The third well of the current drilling campaign, the SEMZ-3X, is scheduled to begin later this month. Apex plans to drill the 3X to a depth of 5,700 ft in search of oil in Bahariya formation. The SEMZ-3X location is 5 km east of Zarif field, which also produces from the Bahariya.

Apex holds a 100% working interest in the SEM exploration concession, encompassing 2,534-sq km. The company acquired the concession interest through the 2016 exploration bid round of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) and signed the concession agreement on Aug. 29, 2017.