On 24 April 2020, SDX Energy (SDX) provided an update on well-testing operations at the Sobhi 1 (SD-12X) exploratory well, S. Disouq Onshore block, Nile Delta Basin.  The company reported that a drill stem test (DST) at the well began with a step-rate test of one hour achieving a maximum rate of 25 MMscf/d on a 54/64" choke. This initial flow test was followed by a three-hour period flowing at a stable rate of 15 MMscf/d on a 28/64" choke and then a further four hours flowing at a stable rate of 10 MMscf/d on a 16/64" choke. The well was then shut in for a 12-hour build-up period during which pressure continued to increase back to pre-test levels.  Based on these results, SDX anticipated that when connected, the well will produce at an optimum stabilised rate of 10-12 MMscf/d which is in line with the nearby Ibn Yunus 1X producing well.  Sobhi 1 will be subject to a longer rig-less test in the coming weeks which will help to determine the discovery's recoverable volume - at present estimated to be 24 Bcf of recoverable resource.  Background information  On 8 April 2020, SDX Energy announced that its exploration well Sobhi 1 encountered a 33-meter net gas-bearing sandstone interval near the base of the Pliocene Kafr El Sheikh Formation. The top of the Formation was found at a measured depth of 1,709 m.   The company spudded well on 19 March 2020, targeting some 33 Bscf of gas in the Kafr El Sheikh Formation at around 2,130 m depth. If successful, the well was planned to be tied in during 2021 via a 5.8 km tie-in to the Ibn Yunus-1X location where an existing flow-line connects to the South Disouq central processing facility.  Sobhi 1 (SD-12X) is the second exploration well spudded by SDX Energy in the S. Disouq Onshore block after the company had drilled Salah 1 earlier this year (separate article).   The S. Disouq Onshore block is a 796-sq-km acreage initially granted to SDX Energy in April 2013. Two gas discoveries were made by the company in the block area, Disouq South and Ibn Yunus, respectively in 2017 and 2018. Both fields, which are operated from separate development acreages were brought onstream in mid-2019 and reached a combined stabilized plateau production of 50 MMscf/d in December 2019.  SDX Energy operates the S. Disouq Onshore block with 55% interest through a JV with IPR Energy Resources (45%).
Egypt (Northern Egypt B. - Nile Delta B.) Salah 1