Zohr field to produce 350 MMCF of gas in October

CAIRO – 28 August 2017: A set of practical experiments are expected to be conducted in the Mediterranean’s largest gas field Zohr before the end of October to produce an estimated 350 million cubic feet (MMCF) of gas per day and to be increased to 1,000 MMCF by the end of 2017, a source at the Petroleum Ministry said on Sunday.

The source added that progress of the development works of Zohr exceeded 83.5% so far, noting that the production of the first phase is expected to reach its maximum before the first quarter of 2018, estimated at 1,200 MMCF per day.

The productive energy is expected to increase to 2,700 MMCF per day after developing all wells in 2019. Investments of the first phase currently stand at $4bn.

Earlier in a meeting with the Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El-Molla, to review the financial results of Italian company Eni’s joint ventures, the chairman of Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) Atef Hassan said that seven Zohr wells have already been drilled.

Petrobel produced 345,000 barrels of equivalent oil per day in fiscal year 2016/17 with $693m in investments, Hassan told El-Molla.

President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi stressed on the importance of committing to the designed timeline for the start of production of the Zohr natural gas field, according to a statement from the presidency on Sunday.

This came during Sisi’s meeting with Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi.

During the meeting, Descalzi reviewed his company’s works to develop the gas field and what have been achieved so far in terms of infrastructure, digging wells and establishing a control system, in cooperation with a number of Egyptian companies.

Descalzi said that his company seeks to swiftly develop the field so that it starts production by the end of this year.

President Sisi has directed the Petroleum ministry and its affiliates to cooperate with Eni and eliminate any obstacles that might hinder the development of the field.

The Zohr gas field, discovered in 2015 by Eni, is the largest natural gas field in the Mediterranean. It will start production through three phases. The first will be launched in a few months with an output of 1,000 MMCF per day. When all seven fields are completed by 2019, this amount will increase to 2,700 MMCF.