Zohr field turns Egypt into a gas supplier

Oil minister Tarek El-Molla hailed the efforts exerted by the oil sector in Egypt’s Zohr natural gas field highlighting the exploration works which ended in a record time.

“As per international standards, what was accomplished in only 28 months by the Egyptian engineers and workers is significant and deserves appraise,” El-Molla said.

In his interview with the privately-owned satellite channel ON TV, El-Molla said that Zohr field had started production and it would help the country achieve self-sufficiency of natural gas.

The Mediterranean’s largest offshore field produces 350 million cubic feet per day and it is expected to rise to about 1 billion cubic feet in June and 2.7 billion by the end of 2019, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Saturday.

“The output of Zohr field will ease the burden on the state budget and cut the imports bill,” El-Molla said.

“It will save about $60m monthly which the state could spend on other sectors such as education and health,” he added.

Egypt imports liquefied gas at high costs to meet its energy needs.

Eni’s discovery of Zohr in August 2015 will help the state to satisfy much of the local demand and could put the nation as a gas supplier for the eastern Mediterranean region.

El-Molla concluded his interview that the next phase of the project will be starting by mid-2019 to end in late 2019.