CEO of Italian energy giant Eni Claudio Descalzi discussed Sunday with the Egyptian president setting up a gas hub in the Eastern Mediterranean backed by domestic pipelines and LNG exports linked to the Italian energy company's Zohr discovery. During the meeting, Eni's CEO presented to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the development plan for the Zohr field. The parties confirmed the joint commitment to accelerate the production start-up of the field. Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC, a company which has always been a frontrunner in exploring and exploiting gas resources in Egypt since the discovery of the Abu Maadi Field in 1967. Last August, Eni discovered one of the largest known gas field in the Mediterranean off the Egyptian coast, predicting the find could help meet Egypt's gas needs for decades to come. According to geophysical data, the deep-water deposit in the "Zohr" Prospect is located at a depth of 1.450 meters and it could hold a potential of 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers. ENI, which wholly owns the license for Shorouk, said that the outstanding result validates its strategy of exploring mature areas. Thus, the company has planned to fast track development of the site, using existing infrastructure, arguing that yet more gas might be uncovered in future drilling. Eni is the main hydrocarbon producer in Egypt, with a daily equity production of 190,000 barrels of oil equivalent.
