The Italian company Eni completed drilling operations in the sixth well in Zohr gas field in the deepwater offshore of the Mediterranean Sea as production tests on its fifth well confirmed that reserves increased to 30tn cubic feet of gas. An official at Eni told Daily News Egypt that the sixth well's production tests will start next week and will take roughly 10 days. He added that drilling operations, establishing a gas treatment plant, and processing marine pipelines to connect them to the Shorouk concession area are currently being implemented, according to the project's development plan. $5bn will be invested in the first phase of Zohr field's project in the Mediterranean Sea, the source informed. The source pointed out that drilling one well in the deepwater facility in Zohr gas field requires 40 days and costs roughly $100m. Eni targets to complete the first phase of the Shorouk gas treatment plant by December 2017, along with the start of the gradual production of the field's proven reserves. The Italian company is investing $3.5-4bn to develop the Zohr natural gas production processing plant at a capacity of 2.7bn cubic feet of gas per day. Eni plans to connect 900m cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid by the end of 2017 or in the first quarter of 2018. The project's production rate is projected to reach 2.7bn cubic feet of gas by 2020. The source pointed out that the development of the gas treatment plant in Zohr field will operate with a preliminary capacity of 1bn cubic feet of gas per day, cooperating with the Petrobel Company in Port Said. The results of the second well indicate an increase in the estimated reserves by 20%, which means an increase in the production of recoverable quantities by the end of the development processes with an investment worth $12bn. Shorouk concession development agreement signed between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Eni includes assigning 40% of the value of the total gas recovery for the benefit of the foreign partner's investment in the project, which includes research and development. The assigned ratio revolves to the Egyptian government after repaying investments of the foreign partner in accordance with the agreement.
