Edison plans to drill a deepwater exploratory well in the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt Branch General Manager and Vice President of North Africa and Middle East Operations for Edison, Nicolas Katcharov, told Daily News Egypt.

The drilling and exploratory process is estimated to cost $80 million. If successful and a new field is discovered, Katcharov estimates that development of the new field will garner more than $2 billion in investments.

Over the past three years, Edison has invested $300 million on its Abu Qir PIII platform in the Abu Qir Concession, according to Katcharov. He noted that the platform had increased oil and gas production by 50% at the field.

Edison currently has three concessions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Katcharov noted that while Edison currently prefers to remain an observer of the regulatory changes occurring in Egypt’s domestic gas market, he expects other investors to enter the market to take advantage of Egypt’s increasing energy demand and its new regulatory environment.