Italy’s Eni said on Sunday it has found “super giant” gas field off the coast of Egypt, calling it “the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea”.
The Zohr field could hold a potential 30 trillion cubic feet of lean gas, representing one of the world’s largest natural gas finds.
The huge reserves were found at a depth of 4,757 feet (1,450 metres), in the Shorouk Block, off the shore of Egypt.
Eni has 100% working interest in the block which it obtained in January last year through its subsidiary IEOC Production B.V. The contract was signed with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) following a competitive international bid round.
The Italian IOC said it will immediately appraise the field and aim for a fast track development of the discovery that “will utilise at best the existing offshore and onshore infrastructures”.
Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, has recently travelled to Cairo to discuss the new exploration success with the Egyptian institutional leaders
“It’s a very important day for Eni and its people. This outstanding result confirms our expertise and our technological innovation capacity with immediate operational application, and above all shows the strength of the cooperation spirit amongst all the company’s units which are at the foundation of our great successes,” Descalzi said.
“Our exploration strategy allows us to persist in the mature areas of countries which we have known for decades and has proved to be winning, reconfirming that Egypt has still great potential.
This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt in which we have been welcomed for over 60 years. The exploration activities are central to our growth strategy: in the last 7 years we have discovered 10 billion barrels of resources and 300 million in the first half of the year, confirming Eni’s leading position in the industry.
“This exploration success acquires an even greater value as it was made in Egypt which is strategic for Eni, and where important synergies with the existing infrastructures can be exploited allowing us a fast production startup,” he added.
Eni is the main hydrocarbon producer in Egypt, with a daily production of 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent.
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