Chinese Drilling Technology Transforms Egypt’s Deserts into Fertile Farmland

TL;DR:

• Chinese company ZPEC has drilled 680+ wells across Egypt's deserts since 2016, transforming barren land into productive farmland growing wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets.
• Egypt faces severe agricultural constraints with only 4/5% arable land for 100+ million people, making desert reclamation critical for food security and reducing import dependence.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Photo: Xinhua

In Egypt’s sun-scorched Western Desert, where sand and rock once dominated, fields of wheat, alfalfa, and potatoes now flourish, irrigated by deep wells drilled with Chinese technology.

Since 2016, China’s Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group (ZPEC) has partnered with Egyptian authorities to bore over 680 wells across the country, turning arid expanses into productive farmland and bolstering Egypt’s push for food security.

Egypt, home to over 100 million people, faces a daunting challenge: only 4 to 5% of its land is arable. With a rapidly growing population and limited fertile soil, the government launched desert reclamation initiatives in 2015 to expand agricultural capacity.

ZPEC’s deep-well drilling has emerged as a cornerstone of this effort, tapping groundwater to irrigate once-barren regions like the Western Desert, Minya Province, and the New Valley Governorate.

In Kom Ombo, 60 kilometers north of Aswan, green wheat fields stand in stark contrast to the surrounding desert. “Before, this place was an arid desert with no vegetation. Now, with the irrigation of well water, crops have grown here, full of vitality and hope,” said Ahmed El-Sadani, deputy manager of ZPEC’s Aswan water well project, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on November 23, 2024.

El-Sadani, who joined ZPEC in 2018, oversees six drilling teams working around the clock to access groundwater up to 1,200 meters deep.

The transformation is not limited to Kom Ombo. In Minya Province, south of Cairo, ZPEC has drilled over 150 wells since 2018, enabling the cultivation of sugar beets, alfalfa, and barley.

“In 2018, we cooperated with Zhongman Egypt to start exploration drilling in this desert. With their assistance, we are now able to irrigate with well water,” said Baldwin, a farm leader in Minya, holding a sugar beet as he spoke to Xinhua on July 11, 2022.

He anticipates the farm will produce 2 million tonnes of sugar beets annually within three years, supporting Egypt’s sugar industry, which consumes over 3.3 million tonnes yearly.

The technical challenges of drilling in Egypt’s deserts are significant.

“The wall of large wellbores is unstable and easy to collapse; the water layer is buried at different depths, and it is easy to leak,” explained Li Wei, general manager of Zhongman Egypt, in a statement to Seetao.

Through collaboration between Chinese and Egyptian technical teams, ZPEC overcame these obstacles, ensuring efficient drilling.

In the New Valley Governorate’s Owainat Water Well Project, six rigs operate 24 hours a day, with over 130 Chinese and Egyptian workers completing more than 60 wells, each 450 meters deep, in under a year.

This collaboration extends beyond agriculture. In the Siwa Oasis, 560 kilometers west of Cairo, ZPEC drilled deepwater wells in 2022 to provide potable water to villagers.

“The water we have been drinking is salty and insufficient for drinking, let alone for growing crops,” said Hasan Osman, a 30-year-old villager, to Xinhua on March 25, 2022. “We’re very happy that the Chinese company is digging a well for us!”

Osman’s gratitude reflects the broader impact of ZPEC’s work, which has fostered goodwill and strengthened ties between China and Egypt.

The wells are part of Egypt’s broader strategy under the Belt and Road Initiative, which has evolved into a platform for agricultural and technological collaboration.

Since establishing its Egyptian branch in 2016, ZPEC has earned recognition for its efficiency, securing contracts across the Sinai Peninsula, Aswan, and beyond. “Zhongman Egypt’s drilling work is excellent, and our sugar refinery was also built by another Chinese company,” Baldwin noted, emphasizing the deepening partnership.

The environmental and economic implications are profound. By transforming deserts into farmland, Egypt is addressing food security and ecological restoration.

The Minya sugar beet farm, for instance, supports a factory expected to produce 900,000 tonnes of white sugar annually, reducing reliance on imports. “We’re not only bringing a couple of deepwater wells to the village but also hope for the local people to live a better life,” Li Wei told Xinhua.

As Egypt continues its desert reclamation, the Chinese-Egyptian partnership offers a model for sustainable development in arid regions.

“It used to be an arid desert here, and the well-drilling teams have turned it into farmland,” said Mohamed Gabar, a worker at the Owainat project, in a May 3, 2025, interview with Xinhua.

His words capture the quiet transformation unfolding across Egypt’s deserts, where technology and cooperation are sowing seeds of progress.