Staff Report: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi Thursday held a meeting with Mr Claudio Descalzi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Eni oil company, which operates the offshore Zohr field, a presidency spokesman said. During the meeting, President Sisi thanked Mr Descalzi for his company's efforts to speed up the operation and production of the Zohr project in accordance with the set timetables and plans. The president expressed the keenness of the government for the company to continue its work and make more discoveries here, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said. The president also directed the Petroleum Ministry to co-operate with Eni and remove any obstacles that might impede the progress of its work, Radi said. Following the meeting, which was attended by Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Mulla and Acting Intelligence Agency Chief Abbas Kamel, Mr Descalzi said that he had briefed President Sisi on the latest developments pertaining to the Zohr project as well as the company's current oil prospecting ventures in the country. Mr Descalzi said that Eni was working on a project for developing the Nowras (Seagull) oilfield in the Nile Delta region. He said that his talks with President Sisi dealt with the latest developments in Egypt's giant offshore Zohr field, which was discovered by Eni in 2015 and could turn Egypt into a regional energy hub. He said that Egypt was one of the most important markets for his company as it has promising opportunities in the energy and renewable energy sectors. Later, Mr Descalzi held talks with Minister el-Mulla that during which he expressed the Eni full confidence in the country's economy and investment climate. "That is why the company had earmarked 70 per cent of its international investments for Egypt alone," he said, adding that Eni had $8.4 billion into the Nowras and Zohr fields project. "The company would put another $3 billion into the coming phase of this project," he said. During his meeting with Minister el-Mulla, Mr Descalzi presented a progress report about the Zohr field project in which he said that the company was moving ahead with the construction of an onshore gas treatment facility in Port Said governorate. He said that the company was working in full co-operation with the Egyptian oil firms to complete the project phases in accordance with set timetables and action plans. The development of Zohr in a record time would be a new source of energy for the Egyptian market. The offshore field, which is estimated to hold 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, would save the country some $1 billion per annum in gas imports. Egypt has drawn up plans to ensure its future energy security, since oil and natural gas are important in the government's development and investment plans.
