The Oil Ministry of Egypt aims to start gas production from the giant offshore Zohr field as early as 2017, a year ahead of schedule.
The field was discovered by Eni (Italy) in August 2015 and is estimated to hold a potential of 850 bcm (30 tcf) of lean gas in place, equivalent to almost 20 times the natural gas consumption of Egypt (44.4 bcm in 2014). Eni plans to invest between US$6bn and US$10bn to develop the field. The stock of foreign oil and gas investment in Egypt is expected to increase from US$7.5bn in the last fiscal year to US$8.5bn in the current fiscal year. In October 2015, BP announced that it would start gas production at its Alexandria concession in early 2017; the field should add up to 1.2 bcf/d (34 mcm/d) by 2019. By 2019, gas projects are expected to add 2.4 bcf/d (67 mcm/d) to the current 4.5 bcf/d (127 mcm/d) production; their total value is estimated at US$13.8bn (excluding Zohr).