Adam Pollard, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie covering northern Africa, says: “There’s quite a lot to go for in Egypt now.”

BP and its partner Dana Gas are drilling ahead on a key onshore well in the Nile Delta, targeting the same “very deep Oligocene play” that it found with its offshore Atoll gas probe.

The key difference is that while each Atoll probe cost several hundred million dollars to drill, the onshore well carries a price tag of $70 million and was due to be drilled to a depth of 6200 metres.

“It’s