report by Westwood Global Energy highlighted four Arab oil and gas wells as promising for unlocking more potential in the Arab region, as part of the ongoing exploration campaigns during 2026.
The newly released report predicted that about 65 high-impact wells will be completed in 2026, including four new wells in Arab countries that will attract attention.
The international report revealed that 2026 will witness major tests in promising Arab oil basins, including the "Amal Matsula" well of the (ENI) company in the Sirte offshore basin in Libya, the "Vellux well of the (Shell) company in the Herodot Basin off the coast of Egypt, and the Kurad-1 well of the Turkish company (TPAO) will be drilled off the coast of Somalia.
In addition, KOC's Raqwa-3 well is a major well worth pursuing, as it targets a deeper Jurassic formation in little-explored offshore waters.
In mid-January 2026, Italy's Eni North Africa has launched drilling its first deep-water exploration well in the submerged area of the Gulf of Sirte in Libya.
Eni is collaborating with its partners represented by the National Oil Corporation (NOC), the British Oil Company (BP) and the Libyan Investment Corporation, to complete the A1-38/3 exploration well, known as the "Matsula Hope", within the contract area (38/3) located in the submerged part of Sirte Bay.
The well is located about 170 kilometers from the Libyan coast, in a marine area that has not previously witnessed drilling operations of this depth, and is described as the deepest offshore exploration well drilled in Libya so far, as the depth of the water at the well site is about 1900 meters (about 6,200 feet), while the drilling work is expected to reach a total depth of about 4,500 meters (about 15,000 feet), according to details seen by the platform Energy.
Velox Well In Egypt
and Egypt, the Stena Ice Max drilling vessel is undertaking work on the Vellux exploration well in the area north of Cleopatra in the Herodotus Basin, as part of an drilling program that includes drilling the development well "Mina West" and then the exploration well "Sirius".
The boundaries of the Hydrodot basin extend into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea between 4 countries, namely Egypt, Libya, Cyprus and Greece, on an area of 113,000 square kilometers below the exclusive economic waters of each of the 4 countries.
Herodotus, whose undiscovered reserves reach 122 trillion cubic feet, is the largest and most geologically important basin in the Mediterranean region, due to its potentially huge reserves, which require a lot of effort to discover and extract
. According to
the report, in mid-February 2026, Turkey sent the deep-water drilling vessel Chagri B to Somalia, in a mission that will be Ankara's first maritime exploration outside its usual maritime navigation zone.
Energy Minister Alp Arslan Bayraktar called the move a "historic moment" in Turkey's efforts to explore for oil and gas.
The minister revealed that his country aims to produce 500,000 barrels per day of oil or its equivalent of hydrocarbons by 2028, with this amount expected to double through discoveries and production-sharing agreements abroad.The
Rakwa-3 well in Kuwait
As for Kuwait, the Westwood report highlighted the exploration of the Rakwa-3 well as worthwhile, after the country announced the discovery of the Nokhada field, which is the largest in 2024.