Hisham Okasha, chairperson of the board of directors of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and Abed Ezz El Regal, head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), signed an agreement to manage the cash revenues of Zohr gas field, through the NBE's accounts, in partnership with EGPC, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Eni, BP, and Rosneft. According to Okasha, the signing of this agreement comes within the framework of the NBE's efforts and support of the oil sector in Egypt, represented by the EGPC and oil sector companies in Egypt, especially in major national projects that have a direct impact on the national economy. Okasha stressed that the bank has a strong capital base that qualifies it to provide the necessary facilities for these major projects, including Zohr field, which is the largest field of gas production in the Mediterranean basin. He added that the signing of this contract highlights the confidence which local and international oil companies place in the NBE, complementing the bank's role in providing all the required banking facilities, whether directly or indirectly, for Zohr field.
The Ministry of Petroleum had indicated that the field is the largest gas find in Egypt with reserves of 30tn cubic feet. Experimental production of the field began in December 2017 with an output of 350m cubic feet per day. Production is expected to reach 1tn cubic feet per day by the middle of this month. The maximum capacity is expected to reach 2.7bn cubic feet per day after its development is completed by the end of 2019.
