Eni has started drilling the ninth well at the Zohr natural gas field, a source in the oil and gas sector told Al Borsa.

The company has invested $300 million during the current drilling operation, the source said.

Eni has begun drilling this well in order to add 250 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of natural gas by the end of 2018, which will increase the field’s total production to 2.25 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d).

The drilling is set to be completed in November, but the company will delay linking it to production until the sixth 400 mmscf/d-capacity gas processing unit starts operating in December, the source added. This will bring the plant’s total processing capacity to 2.4 bcf/d.

Eni expects to produce 3.2 bcf/d of natural gas from Zohr by the end of 2019, Reuters previously reported.