Egypt’s natural gas reserves increased by 33.3% reaching around 90 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), compared to 60 Tcf in 2015, as the country added new natural gas fields, including Zohr and Atoll, to production.

The total gas reserves rose by around 37 Tcf, petroleum minister Tarek El Molla told Daily News Egypt on the sidelines of a symposium of the Canadian-Egyptian Business Council.

In one year, four major Egyptian natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea with investments of $27.2 billion, were added to production. The fields are Zohr, Noroos, Atol, and Northern Alexandria. The fields have a collective production of 6.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), and played an important role in Egypt’s drive towards natural gas self-sufficiency, the minister explained.

The value of international oil companies’ (IOCs) shares in the fields increased to around $800 million, up from $400 million in fiscal year 2017/18, El Molla noted, adding that the increase was affected by fluctuations in global oil prices.