OREANDA-NEWS. The President of the Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, met today in Cairo Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi.

During the meeting, which follows the recent ones of August and October, Eni’s CEO could make with President el-Sisi an assessment on the work in-progress of the plan for the development of the Zohr field, where drilling activities will restart in January 2016, as well as the timing and costs associated.

The meeting was an opportunity to review all Eni’s assets in Egypt with the aim of maximizing the production in the country, with a particular focus on the Nooros discovery, which, with the production start of the second well, will reach a potential of 5MMsmc/d.

Furthermore, they discussed the prospects that could result from the establishment of a gas hub in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, which would allow to share Egyptian transport infrastructures and exports with the nearby discoveries in the area, as those of Cyprus and Israel.

Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954, where it operates through its subsidiary IEOC, and has historically been a pioneer in the exploration and exploitation of gas resources in the country since the discovery of Camp Abu Maadi in 1967. The company is the largest producer of hydrocarbons in the Country with an equity production of about 190,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.