Egypt s Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said on Wednesday that the country s giant Zohr gas field is expected to produce 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcf/d) by the end of 2018.
El-Molla s statements came during in a visit to follow up on thee progress of work in the Mediterranean Zohr field in Port Said governorate; he was accompanied by government officials and the CEOs of Egyptian gas holding companies.
The minister revealed that Egypt is planning to add 1 bcf/d to the current output in Zohr, aiming to achieve self-sufficiency in gas production by the end of this year.
"Since it started production at the end of December 2017, the Zohr gas field s production has tripled to reach 1 bcf/d per day," El-Molla said.
The Zohr field, the largest natural gas discovery ever made in the Mediterranean, is located off Egypt s northern coast within the Shorouk block, some 190 km north of Port Said.
Earlier this month, Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni, which holds a 60 percent stake in the Shorouk block, announced the start-up of the third production unit (T-2) of the Zohr gas field project, increasing its functional capacity to 1.2 bcf/d.
Field production is expected to rise to 2.7 bcf/d by the end of 2019, transforming Egypt into a regional power hub.
