The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources plans to increase natural gas production by 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by 2023, Minister Tarek El Molla told Daily News Egypt.

To reach this goal, the ministry is looking to develop 11 natural gas projects at a cost of $17.5 billion, according to the newspaper.

Currently, Egypt’s total production is expected to hit 6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in the coming months, rendering the planned increase significant.

The ministry also plans to increase production of condensates by 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), Daily News Egypt reports.