Italian explorer ENI has announced a significant gas and condensate discovery in Egypt, following the successful drilling of the Denise W 1 exploration well in the Temsah concession, located offshore in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 2Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas initially in place (GIIP) and 130Million barrels of associated condensates, the company said in a statement April 7, 2026.
The discovery comes at a time of desperate hunger for new gas in Egypt, a onetime gas producing, processing and distribution hub, which has been hobbled by declining production in the last four years, falling from approximately 6Billion standard cubic feet per day (6Bscf/d) in 2022 to less than 4Bscf/d by 2025..
ENI is the leading hydrocarbon producer in Egypt and, like other producers, it has been heavily courted by Karim Badawi (the Minister of Petroleum appointed in July 2024), to press the throttle on exploration and boost production. Under Badawi’s watch, Egyptian Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has proposed an increase to the price it pays for domestically produced gas from five E&P companies by 30-50%, with deepwater fields set for the highest increases.
Badawi arrived at the Ministerial desk to meet a pile of debt, owed by the government to international oil and gas partners. As of June 30, 2024, the month before he took the job, the arrears were at a peak of $6.1Billion. He launched a repayment plan, paying back nearly $5Billion in overdue bills in the last 20 months, part of an effort to encourage companies to intensify operations and address declining gas production.
ENI’s spud of the Denise W 1 well follows the binding agreement signed in July 2025 with Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) and Egyptian Gas Holding Company (EGAS) for the 20-year renewal of the Temsah Concession. ENI operates the Denise development license within the Temsah Concession with a 50% interest, along with bp, which holds the remaining 50%. The asset is managed by Petrobel, the operating company of the joint venture between ENI and EGPC.
The Denise W discovery is located 70 kilometres offshore, in a water depth of 95 metres, and less than 10 kilometres from existing infrastructure; this allows for significant synergies for accelerated development. “Like the nearby Temsah field, which has been producing since 2001, it features an excellent-quality gas-bearing sandstone reservoir with approximately 50 metres of net pay”, ENI said in a statement.
