In a landmark achievement for the Egyptian oil and gas sector, the first locally manufactured PDC Drill Bit was successfully utilized in drilling a development well in the Western Desert by North Bahariya Petroleum Company (Norpetco), a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Cheiron.
Norpetco has successfully utilized the first locally manufactured Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) drill bit to drill a production well in its fields. This 8.5” double row PDC drill bit was 100% locally designed and manufactured by Obelisk Petroleum Services & Drilling Systems
(Obelisk) in collaboration with Tanmia Petroleum Company (Tanmia).
Geologist Khaled El Shishtawy, Chairman of Norpetco, stated: “We are proud to announce the successful use of the first locally manufactured drill bit in Egypt in our production operations.” He added, “Norpetco, as always, takes pride in leading initiatives that support local industries and technology localization in alignment with the state’s policies and the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.”
Eng. Mohamed El Naka, Managing Director of Norpetco, emphasized that this initiative aligns with Egypt’s strategic vision to enhance and localize manufacturing capabilities, reduce reliance on imports, alleviate pressure on foreign currency, and strengthen the local energy sector. He further noted that this achievement underscores Egypt’s determination to establish itself as a major player in regional energy markets and its leadership in Africa as the first country in the continent to manufacture drill bits.
From his end, Eng. Mostafa Amer, Chairman of Tanmia Petroleum Company, said: “As part of our commitment to providing pioneering drilling solutions to Oil & Gas Operators in Egypt and in line with our Vision 2030, we collaborated with Obelisk to introduce drill bit repair services to the Egyptian market a few years ago. Since then, we have successfully repaired dozens of drill bits for companies such as Norpetco, Khalda, Bapetco, and Scimitar, achieving significant cost savings as well as savings on foreign currency.” He added, “After the great success the bits refurbishment service has achieved, we decided to take it to the next level and collaborate with Obelisk in the manufacturing of the bits, which again proved to be another great success”.
Eng. Ihab Girgis, Cheiron Chief Operating Officer, commended the achievement, stating, “As an Egyptian company, Cheiron remains committed to supporting the development of local technology companies. Two years ago, we made the bold decision to back Tanmia and Obelisk in their efforts to repair and later manufacture drill bits. We are thrilled with the success of that decision and look forward to further developments from Obelisk and other Egyptian companies.”
“We placed a bet on Egyptian capabilities and expertise—and we won the bet,” said Eng. Samir Zayed, Assistant Chairman for Operations at Norpetco. He continued, “We are extremely proud to have been the first to take this step and are delighted with the results. The drill bit performance was good, matching the quality of its imported counterparts from leading global manufacturers. Moreover, after POOH the bit was in a very good condition and is ready to rerun.”
“We are very proud to announce that we are the first and only manufacturer of PDC drill bits in Egypt and Africa. Not only is the company ownership 100% Egyptian but most importantly the design and manufacturing are 100% done by professional Egyptian expertise.” said Eng. Shady Aziz, the Chariman and Co-Founder of Obelisk. “We take extreme pride in our Egyptian identity, hence we chose to give our PDC drill bits the name GEB, inspired by the ancient Egyptian god of the Earth.”
The drill bit was manufactured using steel compliant with the American Petroleum Institute (API) standards and the latest multi-axis CNC machines. This accomplishment highlights the success of local expertise and talent in meeting global industry standards.
