First Gas from Zohr Field
Eni has produced its first gas from the supergiant Zohr field in a record time for this type of field of less than two and a half years. The discovery, which is located in the Shorouk Block, offshore Egypt approximately 190km north of Port Said, has a potential in excess of 30Tcf of gas in place (about 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent).
Zohr, discovered in August 2015, obtained the investment authorisation after just six months in February 2016. It is the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea, and will be able to satisfy a part of Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades to come. Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi states: “This discovery will completely transform Egypt’s energy landscape, allowing it to become self-sufficient and to turn from an importer of natural gas into a future exporter.”
The story of Zohr dates back to 2012, when the field’s fifteen exploration areas came up for tender. Monitoring revealed that a reservoir was concealed in Block 9 and the decision was made to enter the fray. In August 2015, Zohr turned out to be a sensational discovery. Today the deposit is testament to the success of Eni’s dual exploration model, previously used in offshore Mozambique, an area divided up between Eni, CNPC and Exxon Mobil. In 2016, Zohr was the focus of a process that led to minority stakes in the Shorouk concession being sold to BP and Rosneft; the Russian company received 30% and the British giant 10%.
Eni is co-Operator of the project through Petrobel, jointly held by Eni and the state corporation Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), on behalf of Petroshorouk, jointly held by Eni and the state company Egyptian Natural Gas holding Company (EGAS). Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954, where it operates through its subsidiary IEOC Production BV. The company is the country’s main producer with an equity production of approximately 230,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.