Egypt denied reports that its giant Zohr gas field was facing technical problems, in a statement released on Monday, highlighting instead investments to boost production.
Total investment in the offshore gas field has reached $12 billion and is expected to reach $15 billion in three years' time, the government announced in a statement on Monday.
« Le champ fonctionne à pleine capacité alors que les nouvelles de problèmes techniques sont incorrectes », a-t-il déclaré, répondant à ce qu’il a décrit comme des informations selon lesquelles le champ pourrait être fermé. Des travaux sont en cours sur le 20e puits du champ, après quoi il devrait produire 2,3 milliards de pieds cubes par jour (bcfd), selon le communiqué.
Zohr was discovered in 2015 by Italy's Eni and began production at the end of 2017. It contains around 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The field in the Mediterranean Sea is operated by Petrobel, a joint venture between Eni and Egypt's state-owned General Petroleum Corp (EGPC). Eni spokespeople were not immediately available for comment outside office hours.
The project is jointly owned by Eni, Rosneft, BP, Mubadala Petroleum and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).