Egypt's supergiant natural gas discovery has the potential to improve its energy position and will contribute more broadly to its economy, an official from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday. Eni SpA announced last Sunday it had discovered a "supergiant" natural gas field off Egypt, describing it as the "largest-ever" found in the Mediterranean Sea. Eni further said the discovery — made in its Zohr prospect "in the deep waters of Egypt" — could hold a potential 30 trillion cubic feet of gas over an area of 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles). "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," Eni said in a statement. "The discovery, after its full development, will be able to ensure satisfying Egypt's natural gas demand for decades." The discovery well is 190 kilometers (about 120 miles) from the Egyptian coast, and is at a depth of 1,450 meters (4,757 feet) in the Shorouk Block, the company said. The block is about 107 kilometers (66 miles) from Port Said. "Basically, our view is that the discovery of a major gas deposit has the potential to improve Egypt's energy position and to contribute to its economy more broadly," said William Murray, Deputy Head of the IMF's Communications Department, during a weekly press briefing posted on the IMF website. Murray further stated that limited information about the find and its exploitation at this stage makes it difficult for the fund to assess the ultimate impact. Meanwhile, the upcoming Mission Chief for Egypt visit to Cairo later this month for a regular follow-up will give "us (IMF) a chance to explore this matter more actively," Murray added. An IMF mission is scheduled to visit Cairo in the middle of September, to discuss latest economic developments with top government officials, MENA quoted IMF's Egypt Mission Chief, Chris Jarvis Thursday. The IMF mission was scheduled to visit Egypt in June, but it was postponed to the end of the summer. The visit is a part of the fund's periodical follow-up operation on the new data of the Egyptian economy.
