● Production reaches 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd)
● Audited 2P reserves climb 14% to 29 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe)
● Ras Qattara new concession agreement signed into law
● Exploration campaign in Qattara Depression in progress
● Budgeted US$100 million of operating and capital expenditures in 2024
● Thomas Maher, Apex’s President and CEO said: “Since our last update we have
continued to focus on the successful integration of our six operated concessions
and personnel following our transaction with IEOC, which is now paying off and is
reflected in Apex’s continued growth in production and reserves.”
Cairo, Egypt; Houston, Texas, July 1, 2024 – Apex International Energy (Apex or the “Company”)
today provided an update on operations and commercial developments from its eight concessions (6
operated) in the Western Desert oil producing region of Egypt for the first half of 2024.
Operations Overview
To date in 2024, Apex has drilled 10 wells. Six of the 10 drilled wells are currently producing, one has
been completed as a water supply well for a water injection project, two are discoveries waiting on
completions and one was a dry hole. The drilling campaign utilizing the EDC-65 rig has focused on
continued development of Apex’s Fajr and Farah fields, delineation of the Mashreq-N and RAM fields
and exploration, all in the Southeast Meleiha (SEM) concession, and drilling a commitment well in
the Zarif field in the Ras Qattara concession.
The most recent Fajr well, the Fajr-40, tested at a sustained rate of 500 barrels of oil per day (bopd)
from the Upper Bahariya (UBAH) formation in late May and has now been placed into production.
The successful test of the UBAH establishes the viability of further development of this horizon in the
Fajr field area as well as the later recompletion to the UBAH formation in the existing Middle
Bahariya (MBAH) producers once the MBAH is depleted in those wells.
In the Zarif field, the Zarif 47 drilled in February 2023, which was the last commitment well under
the old Ras Qattara concession agreement, and the Zarif 49 drilled in April 2024, which is one of two
commitment wells required under the newly signed Ras Qattara concession agreement, were both
completed as producers in the UBAH and placed into production earlier in the second quarter.
The RAM-3 well drilled in May provided further delineation of the RAM field in the Qattara
Depression (discovered August 2023) and tested gas and condensate from the Lower Bahariya and
Middle Bahariya. The well will be temporarily abandoned for a possible future gas completion,
potentially in conjunction with future deep gas exploration prospects in the vicinity.
In its non-operated concessions (25% interest; IEOC-operated), gas production from the Faramid
project in the East Obaiyed concession has remained stable at approximately 23 million cubic feet
per day, or 3,830 boepd (960 boepd net to Apex) from two wells. In the South West Meleiha
concession, the SMEL C-1X exploration well encountered oil in the Bahariya formation and was
placed on production in May at a rate of approximately 400 bopd (100 bopd net to Apex).
Total working interest production has hit 12,000 boepd on several occasions and averaged between
11,500-12,000 boepd throughout 1H 2024, placing Apex amongst the top 10 liquids producers in
Egypt.
On the exploration front, in the Qattara Depression in the SEM concession, drilling of the SEMR-D1X
exploration well started in late May. The well reached TD at approximately 9,000 feet-MD. The well
encountered 81 feet of continuous, highly porous gas pay in the Dabaa formation, 28 feet of
calculated gas pay in the Apollonia Formation and 12 feet of oil pay in the Upper Bahariya (UBAH).
No commercial hydrocarbons were found in the primary target Alam El-Bueib (AEB) sandstones, and
the lower portion of the well has been plugged and abandoned in preparation for testing of the
UBAH pay zone.
The EDC-65 rig will next drill the SEMR-E1X exploration well. This well targets the AEB while also
having prospectivity in the Bahariya and other shallower horizons. Following the SEMR-E1X, the
EDC-65 rig will be released while the Company assesses the data gathered from operations to date in
2024 and plans future development and exploration campaigns.
In East Siwa, where Apex operates with IEOC as a 50% partner, reprocessing of 2D seismic data is
almost complete, after which an exploration drilling location will be selected from among the
identified prospects.
The Company’s independent reserve auditors recently completed their assessment of reserves as of
year-end 2023. Audited 2P reserves stood at 29.1 mmboe (Apex working interest) versus 25.5
mmboe at year-end 2022, an increase of 14%. This is in line with the Company’s internal estimates
of approximately 30 million mmboe as of that date, and places Apex among the top 10 commercial
reserves holders in the Western Desert as of that date.
Commercial Overview
On May 27, 2024, the Minister of Petroleum signed the new concession agreement for Ras Qattara
between the government of Egypt, EGPC, Apex and INA-Industrija Nafte, d.d., with a firm term of 5
years, with an option to extend for an additional 5 years with Minister approval. This new agreement
includes terms that will extend the economic life and ultimate recovery from the field and includes a
two-well drilling commitment, the first of which, the Zarif 49, was completed and placed into
production earlier this year.
Apex is currently negotiating with EGPC to extend the term of its SEM exploration acreage for 3
years beyond its upcoming expiration date in November 2024, and to modernize commercial terms
in the West Razzak and East Kanayes concessions that host the mature Aghar and other oil fields.
The new fiscal terms would extend the economic life of the Aghar fields and allow more efficient
depletion of reserves.
The Company’s total budgetary commitment to exploration, development and production
operations in Egypt during 2024 exceeds $100 million, including operating and capital expenditures
for the work program.
Finally, Apex announces the retirement of Keith Dowling, the Company’s Vice President of
Engineering and Managing Director/General Manager of the PetroFarah joint venture, effective July
31, 2024. Mr. Dowling, a co-founder of the Company, joined Apex in 2016 and has been in the Cairo
office since 2019. Tom Everitt, who comes from a 30-year career in the upstream oil industry,
primarily with Shell, including 6 years in Egypt, will be joining Apex in Cairo and assuming Mr.
Dowling’s responsibilities and positions upon his departure.
“Since our last update we have continued to focus on the successful integration of our six operated
concessions and personnel following our transaction with IEOC,” said Thomas Maher, Apex’s
President and Chief Executive Officer. “The success in that effort is reflected in Apex’s continued
growth in production and reserves, and I would like to thank the Apex and PetroFarah teams and
our partners, contractors and vendors for their outstanding efforts in making this possible.”
Maher continued, “I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Board of Directors to
thank Keith Dowling for his many invaluable contributions to the Company’s progress. We wish
him and his wife Joan all the best in their retirement and repatriation to the United States. We
also welcome Tom Everitt to the Company. Tom’s extensive experience and especially his years in
Egypt and the Western Desert will help Apex to continue its growth trajectory and progress.”
