Apache Corp., Houston, and partners have agreed to supply 200 MMcfd of gas from the Khalda concession in Egypt's western desert to the country's national gas grid under a 25-year take-or-pay contract that begins May 1, 1999.
Total gas volumes to be delivered under the contract are about 4 tcf.
Wellhead contract price, currently more than $3/Mcf, is tied to the price of fuel oil and Gulf of Suez blended crude. At current prices, Apache said its share of future deliveries represents about $1.2 billion, of which 75% is contracted under take-or-pay provisions.
To move gas from Royal Dutch/ Shell Group's Obaiyed concession and the Khalda/Khalda offset concessions, a 315-km, Shell-operated, 34-in. pipeline will be built by a group of Apache, Shell, Repsol Exploracion Egipto SA, and Samsung Ltd. (OGJ, Nov. 4, 1996, p. 96).
Meanwhile, Apache continues to press exploration and development on the Khalda concession, where it has a 40% interest. In December 1996, Apache completed Tut-22X, which tested at a rate of 90 MMcfd of gas and 4,000 b/d of condensate. A new indicated Khalda discovery, Shams S-1X, and a recent appraisal, Shams-2X, will be tested in coming months. Apache said Shams S-1X had about 300 ft of indicated pay.
For 1996, the company expects to book about 85 bcf of gas equivalent reserves from discoveries on the concession.
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