Dana Gas has announced that it has made a new discovery within its Egyptian oil drilling concession zone.

The find, which represents the first significant discovery of the year under the company's $170 million exploration campaign, has been taken as further proof of the presence of a strong hydrocarbon system within upper Egypt.

The oil was located in the Abu Ballas formation, close to the Six Hills formation, by the Al Baraka-1 well.

According to Dana Gas's director for the north African country, Dr Hany Elsharkawi, this in turn "enhances the chances of proving large oil reserves in this part of the country, which will positively impact the prosperity and the well being of the region and its residents, for the benefit of the Egyptian economy as a whole."

The company also confirmed that it is to carry out a programme of hydraulic fracturing of the producing reservoirs of the Al Baraka-1 and Al Baraka-2 wells over the coming weeks as it works to enhance their productivity levels.

At present, Dana Gas is the sixth largest producer of natural gas in Egypt, having acquired Devon Energy Corporation's oil and gas operations in the country last year in a deal worth around $375 million.