Egypt Daily News – Eni is set to boost natural gas production in Egypt by approximately 200 million cubic feet per day, starting from January, through the drilling of three new wells in the Zohr field, in the Mediterranean.
This follows the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum’s recent visit to Italy to discuss enhancing cooperation with Eni, which is the largest foreign investor in Egypt’s energy sector.
An agreement was reached during this visit to expedite the drilling of three new wells in the Zohr field, with a commitment from the government to ensure timely payments towards the monthly dues and settle any overdue debts as per the agreed schedule.
The Zohr gas field representing over 35% of Egypt’s current gas production, which averages around 4.6 billion cubic feet per day.
The current production from the field stands at about 1.6 billion cubic feet per day, down from approximately 1.9 billion cubic feet per day last year. The drilling of the three wells is estimated to cost over $300 million.
In terms of financial commitments, the Egyptian government has already paid $1.3 billion toward the dues of foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country by the end of June.
According to a report from the International Monetary Fund, the dues owed by foreign companies to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation reached approximately $5 billion as of late August.
The Egyptian government aims to increase its natural gas production to around 5 billion cubic feet per day by the end of the year.
