CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt and Italian energy firm ENI have announced a significant natural gas discovery off the country’s Mediterranean coast, a development that comes as Egypt grapples with energy security challenges amidst regional tensions.
The Denise W exploration well, drilled by ENI in the Eastern Mediterranean Temsah oil and gas field, has uncovered substantial gas reserves. Preliminary estimates suggest the Temsah concession holds approximately 2 trillion cubic feet of gas, along with 130 million barrels of petroleum condensates. This discovery is part of Egypt’s efforts to bolster its energy sector and reduce its reliance on imports.
The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry has emphasized the strategic importance of this find, which is aimed at supporting increased production, offsetting natural decline, and decreasing the country’s energy import bill. The disruption of gas supplies from Qatar and Israel due to the Middle East conflict has necessitated energy-saving measures in Egypt, including a business curfew and fuel price increases.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly noted that the war has caused Egypt’s natural gas import bill to nearly triple, from $560 million to $1.65 billion per month. The ministry is now preparing the Denise W well for testing, with plans to drill more wells and construct an offshore production platform to bring the reserves online.
This latest discovery follows another significant find by Apache Corporation in Egypt’s Western Desert, which is expected to yield 26 million cubic feet per day. Egypt’s energy sector has been a focus of the country’s efforts to balance domestic needs with aspirations to become a regional energy hub. The discovery of the Zohr field in 2015, the Mediterranean’s largest gas field, had initially raised hopes for self-sufficiency and a major role in gas exports. However, Egypt has since shifted its focus to becoming a processing and export hub, utilizing its liquefaction terminals to route gas from various countries, including Cyprus.
Source: Africanews
