Atoll Phase 2

Location

The Atoll Phase 2 field is located offshore Egypt, within the North Damietta Offshore Concession in the East Nile Delta. Specifically, it is situated 15km north of the Salamat discovery, 80km north of the city of Damietta, and 45km north-west of the Temsah offshore facilities.

Discovery and Reserves

The Atoll field was discovered by BP in March 2015 through the Atoll-1 deepwater exploration well. This well, drilled to a depth of 6,400 meters, encountered approximately 50 meters of gas pay in high-quality sandstones. The field is estimated to contain approximately 1.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas and 31 million metric barrels (mmbl) of condensates.

For Atoll Phase 2 specifically, the reserves include:

• Condensate: 31 million barrels (EUR classification)
• Gas: Initially estimated at 42,474.87 million cubic meters (EUR classification), with updated reserves of 18,688.94 million cubic meters as of 2022.

Development Phases

The Atoll field is being developed in two phases.

Phase 1

• Started production in February 2018.
• Involved the recompletion of the existing exploration well as a producing well, drilling of two additional wells, and the installation of tie-ins and facilities to enable gas production.
• Tied back to BP’s existing Akhan-Temsah infrastructure.

Phase 2

• Production began in 2021.
• Part of the full field development, which aims to increase production beyond the initial phase.
• Operated by Pharaonic Petroleum Co. (PhPC), a joint venture between BP, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), and Eni.

Production

• The first phase of the Atoll field was designed to extract up to 300 million cubic feet a day (mmscfd) of gas.
• The full field development, including Phase 2, aims to contribute significantly to Egypt’s gas production, with BP targeting a total gas production of 2.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in Egypt, which represents more than 50% of the country’s current gas production.

Infrastructure and Operations

• Gas and liquids produced from the field are processed onshore at the existing West Harbour gas processing facility.
• The project involves the use of advanced drilling rigs, including the DS-6 drillship and the Maersk Discoverer semi-submersible rig.
• Subsea 7 was awarded the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract for the subsea pipelines.

Investment and Costs

• The first phase of the Atoll field was developed with an investment of $1 billion.
• Full field development is estimated to cost around $3 billion.

Key Players

• BP holds 100% equity in the Atoll discovery and is the operator.
• Pharaonic Petroleum Co. (PhPC), a joint venture between BP, EGAS, and Eni, executes and operates the project.
• Other key contractors include Maersk Drilling, Ensco, and Subsea 7.