Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Engineer Tarek El Molla, met with the Higher Committee, comprised of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Petrobel, and Italy’s Eni, to follow up on the development of the Zohr field project, Oil Ministry informed in a press release.
Updates regarding the first phase of the project were reviewed during the meeting, as well as the progress of drilling activities in the Shorouk concession area, the positive results of drilling the Zohr-1 and the Zohr-2 wells, and reaching the gas-bearing layer. The meeting also discussed updates regarding drilling the Zohr-3 well, which started in mid-March by Saipem. There are plans that after the third well has been drilled, work will begin on three new wells as part of the first phase of the project.
Total investment in the project is estimated at $12b, of which $4b have been earmarked for the first phase activities. The sum will be provided by Eni over the course of two years: 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Eng. Khaled Abdel Badie, EGAS Chairman; Eng. Mohamed Al-Masry, EGPC Chairman; Eng. Atef Hassan, Petrobel’s Chairman; Eng. Adriano Mongini, Eni’s President; Eng. Antonio Villa, Eni’s Head of Exploration Activities; and Eng. Roberto Casula, Eni’s Chief Development, Operations, and Technology Officer were all present at the meeting.
