OREANDA-NEWS. February 24, 2016. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has approved that the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) grants Eni the Zohr Development Lease, which, following the contractual framework definition, allows for the development of the gas field, located in the Shorouk Concession, offshore Egypt.

The development plan envisages the start of production by the end of 2017, just two years after the discovery, with a progressive ramp up until reaching a volume of about 75 million standard cubic meters of gas per day (equivalent to approximately 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day) by 2019. The quick realization of such a large project will be possible through cooperation with Petroject, Enppi and Saipem contractors, who have always contributed to the success of Eni’s development activities in Egypt.

The discovery of Zohr was announced on 30 August 2015 following the drilling of the Zohr-1 well which occurred within the Shorouk Concession Agreement, in which IEOC is the sole operator. Currently in the drilling phase is Zohr-2, the first appraisal well of Zohr discovery.

Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC Production BV, a company that has always been a frontrunner in exploring and exploiting gas resources in Egypt since the discovery of the Abu Madi Field in 1967. In 2015, the equity production in the country was about 200 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.