The new gas discovery off Egypt's Mediterranean coast could produce up to 32 million cubic feet per day, its Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Eni, along with contractors BP and Total, successfully drilled the first exploration well in the North El-Hammad concession at Bashrush prospect, which Eni operates. French oil company Total said, along with partners BP and Eni, it had made a gas discovery at a well off the coast of Egypt. In 2015, Eni was awarded a 37.5 percent share in the North El-Hammad licence block; the UK's BP holds 37.5 percent and Total holds the remaining 25 percent. Exploration by the three companies began three years later. The new discovery is located at a depth of 22 metres, and is 11 kilometres from the coast. It is also close to the Nooros and Baltim South West offshore fields, both of which are also operated by Eni. Eni has been operating in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC, and its current daily production is estimated at 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent. The Italian company also discovered the giant Zohr gas field, the biggest in the Mediterranean, off the Egyptian coast in 2015.
