Egypt: Eni discovers Zohr, the largest gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea

(Agence Ecofin) - Eni the main hydrocarbon producer in Egypt, with a daily equity production of 200,000 BO equivalents has made a supergiant gas discovery at its Zohr Prospect, in the deep waters of Egypt. Your oil and gas news reports.

The discovery well Zohr 1X NFW is situated in the economic waters of Egypt’s Offshore Mediterranean, in 4,757 feet of water depth (1,450 metres), in the Shorouk Block, which was signed in January 2014 with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) following a competitive international Bid Round.  The discovery however could hold a possible 30 trillion ft3 of lean gas in place; which is 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place covering an area of about 100 km².

Zohr is the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea and could become one of the world’s largest natural-gas finds. This exploration success will give a major contribution in satisfying Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades. With this world class find, Claudio Descalzi Eni’s CEO, travelled to Cairo to update Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and to discuss the discovery with the Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, and the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Sherif Ismail.

“It’s a very important day for Eni and its people. This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt in which we have been welcomed for over 60 years. The exploration activities are central to our growth strategy: in the last 7 years we have discovered 10 billion barrels of resources and 300 million in the first half of the year, confirming Eni’s leading position in the industry. This exploration success acquires an even greater value as it was made in Egypt which is strategic for Eni, and where important synergies with the existing infrastructures can be exploited allowing us a fast production startup”, Claudio Descalzi (photo) commented. Zohr 1X NFW was drilled to a total depth of approximately 13,553 feet (4,131 metres) and hit 2,067 feet (630 metres) of hydrocarbon column in a carbonate sequence of Miocene age with exceptional reservoir characteristics (400 metres plus of net pay).