Egypt Daily News – The Zohr field has been a key player in the changes within Egypt’s energy sector.
Zohr field production peaked at 2.7 billion cubic feet per day.
Currently, there has been a sharp decline in Zohr’s output, and a plan is in place to revive it.
Gas production in Egypt is at its lowest level in nine years.
Since the Zohr field was discovered a decade ago, it has been a major player and a pivotal factor influencing Egypt’s gas production, as well as its export and import policies.
As Egypt’s largest gas field, Zohr marked a significant turning point in supporting the country’s liquefied natural gas exports, before exports stopped and the country resumed imports, pending the results of a new revival plan for the field.
The recent drop in Zohr’s production along with the natural decline in the output of some discovered wells, has led to Egypt’s gas production falling to its lowest level in nine years (4.2 billion cubic feet per day), according to the latest data from the Energy Research Unit (based in Washington). This forced the country to halt gas exports to meet domestic demand starting mid-2024, and to turn to imports, reaching record levels in both liquefied gas shipments and piped natural gas.
Zohr Gas Field Journey
The journey of Egypt’s Zohr gas field began with its discovery in August 2015, and its inclusion in the production map within just two years. Key milestones include:
- January 2014: Exploration agreement between Egypt and Italy’s Eni
- August 2015: Zohr field discovered
- December 2017: Production began
- August 2019: Highest production rate recorded
The journey began in August 2015, when Italian company Eni announced it had discovered the largest gas field in the eastern Mediterranean, covering 100 square kilometers. The giant Zohr field is located in the Shorouk block, 200 kilometers off the coast of Port Said.
The discovery came after maritime border demarcation between Egypt and Cyprus, which allowed the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to launch a global bidding round for exploration in the Shorouk offshore concession, which Eni won.
Afterward, Egypt and Eni signed an exploration agreement in January 2014 for the Shorouk area in the Mediterranean Sea, and drilling operations began in 2015.
Roughly two and a half years after the discovery, in December 2017, Egypt and Eni successfully started production, an achievement the government described at the time as a world record.
Egypt’s stake in Zohr is 50% through EGAS, with the remaining shares held by Italy’s Eni (25%), Russia’s Rosneft (15%), UAE’s Mubadala (5%), and the UK’s BP (5%).
Zohr Field Production
According to data from the Energy Research Unit, Zohr production started at about 350 million cubic feet per day in December 2017, gradually increasing until it reached its peak in August 2019, then began declining over the past two years.
Specifically, the sharpest drop occurred when production fell below 2 billion cubic feet per day last year. Key production milestones include:
- December 2017: 350 million cubic feet per day (start of production)
- September 2018: 2 billion cubic feet per day
- August 2019: 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (peak production)
- December 2024: 1.56 billion cubic feet per day
- April 2025: 1.33 billion cubic feet per day
Egypt is working with Eni on a plan to develop Zohr and boost production again, with hopes of returning to a surplus and resuming exports.
At the end of January, the drilling vessel “Saipem 10000” arrived at the field, with hopes that new drilling activities would add around 220 million cubic feet per day to production. The government has planned $535 million in investments for the current fiscal year to develop Zohr.
However, sources told the specialized energy platform that the current Zohr development plan has not yet yielded any positive results. Eni reportedly extended the drilling period of the “Saipem 10000” vessel by an additional month at the request of Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
If the current drilling efforts succeed, sources expect average production from Egypt’s largest gas field to stabilize at 1.3 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2025. If not, production may drop to just 1 billion cubic feet per day.
According to sources, Zohr’s gas reserves reached 4.8 trillion cubic feet by the end of last year, while the maximum rate of extraction and production stands at just 75%.
How has Zohr impacted Egypt?
Egypt’s gas production and exports have undergone dramatic shifts in recent years, from record highs to sharp declines, and a return to imports from global markets.
With Zohr entering production, Egypt’s gas output gradually increased, reaching a historic high of 6.56 billion cubic feet per day in 2021, before falling to 5.52 billion in 2023 and then to 4.7 billion last year.
This growth allowed Egypt to achieve self-sufficiency in gas by September 2018 and resume exports, shifting from one of the top importers of LNG (from 2015 to 2017) to a key global player in the liquefied gas sector.
The country also benefited from the global gas price surge following the Russia-Ukraine war, as Egypt’s gas export revenues reached $8.4 billion in 2022, achieving 140% annual growth.
However, this boom did not last long. Egypt saw a noticeable decline in gas production in 2024, driven by falling output from many reservoirs—most notably the Zohr field—prompting a return to imports and an exit from the list of gas-exporting countries.
By February 2025, Egypt’s natural gas production had fallen to its lowest level since April 2016, reaching 3.35 billion cubic meters (4.22 billion cubic feet per day).
