Egypt announced a new natural gas discovery in the Nile Delta as it steps up efforts to boost domestic energy production.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said the find was made at the Nidoco N-2 exploratory well in the West Abu Madi concession, located in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate. The well is expected to produce around 50 million cubic feet of gas per day once fully operational.

The project is operated by Eni in partnership with BP and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation through Petrobel, a joint venture between Eni and the state-owned firm.

Officials said the well was drilled using advanced directional drilling techniques, allowing operations to reach shallow offshore reserves from an onshore location. The method is expected to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

The site lies less than two kilometers from existing infrastructure, enabling a rapid tie-in to the national grid, with early production expected to begin within weeks.

The discovery comes as Egypt seeks to reverse declining gas output and strengthen its energy security. 

Authorities aim to increase production from about 4.1 billion cubic feet per day to 6.6 billion cubic feet per day by 2027.

As part of that strategy, the government plans to drill more than 100 exploratory wells this year in a bid to unlock new reserves and stabilize supply.