Royal Dutch Shell announced on Aug. 31 new natural gas discoveries in a concession area of north Alam El-Shawish in Egypt’s western desert.

The initial quantities discovered were estimated at about half a trillion cubic feet of gas with more possible reserves, Shell CEO Eden Murphy said in a statement.

The discovery could produce from 10 to 15% of the total production of Badr el-Din Petroleum company, which is a joint venture acting on behalf of the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and Shell in production operations, Murphy added.

Shell owns the license of the entire area, which includes the well. Badr el-Din is expected to manage the operations.