'Largest ever' Med gas field found off Egypt

Italian energy giant Eni on Aug. 30 announced the discovery of the "largest ever" offshore natural gas field in the Mediterranean, in Egypt's territorial waters.

The discovery, confirmed by Egypt's oil ministry, could hold a potential 30 trillion cubic feet (850 billion cubic metres) of gas in an area of about 100 square kilometres (40 square miles), Eni said in a statement.
 
"It's the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea and could become one of the world's largest natural-gas finds," the firm said.
 
The so-called Zohr project discovery is expected to meet Egypt's own natural gas demands for decades.
 
The "supergiant" field is located at a depth of 4,757 feet (1,450 metres) in the Shorouk Block, Eni said.
 
The firm said it would "immediately appraise the field with the aim of accelerating a fast track development of the discovery", giving a timeframe of four years.
 
It added that Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, has visited Cairo and discussed the discovery with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab.
 
"This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt," Descalzi said in the statement.
 
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, in a message to Descalzi, congratulated the oil company on the "extraordinary" discovery.
         
"A find of this size should be enough to cover a lot of Egypt's energy gap," Robin Mills, a Dubai-based analyst at Manaar Energy Consulting, told Bloomberg News.    

"They'll likely have to meet domestic needs first, before any export plans are discussed. This will also put a damper on Israeli plans to export gas to Egypt," he added.
 
Egypt, the...