Italian TK company Eni announced that Egypt’s giant Zohr gas field is producing 2 bcf/d, equivalent to approximately 365,000 boe/d. This follows the start up of a fifth production unit (T4), which is backed by eight gas producers and a new 218 kilometre sealine that was commissioned last month.Â
In December 2017, as Zohr gas field began production, Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry told Reuters that the field’s production would hit 1 bcf/d by mid-2018.
The project is operated by Petrobel, a joint company between Eni and state corporation Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, on behalf of Petroshorouk, which is jointly held by Shorouk Block stakeholders, listed below, and the state company Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company. Petrobel aims to reach a plateau in excess of 2.7 bcf/d in 2019.
Zohr field, which was discovered by Eni in 2015, is the largest gas discovery in Egypt with more than 30 tcf of gas, and is located in the offshore Shorouk Block. Stakes in the block are divided between multiple companies: Eni hold 50%, Rosneft 30%, BP 10% and Mubadala Petroleum 10%.
The field started production in December 2017. Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954, where it operates through its subsidiary IEOC. The company is the Country’s leading producer with an equity of some 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
This is part of Egypt’s plan to leverage newly-discovered fields in order to move away from natural gas imports and to achieve self-sufficiency.Â
