The Ministry of Petroleum has allowed Eni and BP to export natural gas from their respective shares in the Zohr and North Alexandria fields through the Idku liquefaction plant after meeting the local market needs and achieving a surplus, MENAFN reported.

The decision comes in line with the fields’ development projects, which enable foreign partners to export natural gas after obtaining the ministry’s approval.

Exporting natural gas enables foreign companies to achieve significant financial gains as the liquefied gas shipments are sold according to international prices. The price of the partner’s share in the gas produced from Zohr is estimated between 4.

2$ and 5.88$ and is linked to global prices.

Moreover, developing the second stage of the Zohr field will take place in July and is expected to increase the total natural gas production to about 2.95 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) from the current level of 2.7 bcf/d.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Petroleum is accelerating production from Zohr to speed up connecting the project to the national grid and increase exports as Egypt aims to become a center for natural gas trade and a regional energy hub.