Egyptian PM says Zohr gas field to begin production within weeks after drilling resumed

Egypt's giant Zohr gas field will start production after resuming drilling within weeks, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday, adding that operator Eni had a plan to expand drilling in the next two years.

Production had been curbed because of arrears owed to foreign oil companies.

A drilling ship arrived in Egypt in January as Eni began working on increasing production from the offshore field, Egypt's petroleum ministry said last month.

Average production at Zohr was 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in the first half of 2024, well below a peak reached in 2019.

Zohr is a natural gas project offshore Egypt, almost two hundred kilometres north of Port Said in the Shorouk area. The field is a "super giant", and as far as natural gas is concerned, it is the largest ever discovered in the Mediterranean.

(Reporting by Momen Saeed Atallah; Editing by Susan Fenton Writing by Nayera Abdallah Editing by David Goodman)