Egypt's Zohr gas field expected to double production by end of 2018: minister

CAIRO, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Petroleum Minister Tarek al-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, official Ahram Online website reported.

Al-Molla's statements came during his visit to follow up on the progress of work in the Mediterranean Zohr field in Port Said governorate, according to Ahram.

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," al-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.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer in recent years, squeezed by declining production and increasing consumption.

However, Egypt is back on track to be an exporter soon after a big number of recent discoveries across the country that attracted several international firms for oil exploration over the past few years. Enditem