Eni has discovered gas reserves of up to 15bn cu/m in the Nile Delta and the production is set to begin in two months, the Egyptian Oil Ministry has announced
The discovery was made in Western Abu Madi, 120 km northeast of Alexandria, where the Italian company holds 75 per cent of exploration rights through an Egyptian subsidiary with Britain’s BP holding a 25 per cent stake.
Eni made the discovery at a depth of 3,600 metres and initial estimates point towards reserves of up to 15 billion cubic metres of natural gas and natural gas condensate, an Egyptian oil ministry statement quoted the company as saying.
Egypt’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources Sherif Ismail and Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi have also recently signed a contract that describes the commitment of the parties to jointly evaluate the development opportunities of the discovery by renegotiating the terms and contract extension of the concession.
Eni said that it will focus on a fast track exploitation of the potential to fill up the processing capacity of Abu Madi gas plant.
According to both parties, the agreements marked an attempt by Egyptian authorities to improve terms for foreign oil and gas businesses in the hope that more competitive pricing will encourage investment in the North African country.
The deal also further strengthened the commitments undertaken last March during the Egyptian Economic Development Conference in Sharm El Sheik, which, following the revision of the contractual parameters and temporary extensions of some concessions, envisages investments of an estimate US$5bn.
The investment would also lead to the realisation of projects to be implemented in the next four years and directed to the development of 200mn barrels of oil and 36.8bn cu/m of gas, Eni added.
