Egypt Expects Bump in Gas Output in 2021-22
Egyptian gas production is expected to climb by as much as 9% in the fiscal year starting July 2021, averaging 7.2bn ft3/day (203mn m3/d), the government announced on March 14.
The country produced 6.6bn ft3/d of gas in the 2020 calendar year, according to Reuters, which was enough to cover domestic demand and support exports. The country's Damietta LNG terminal restarted in late February after a nine-year break, after the project partners settled a dispute over its operation.
Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co (EGAS) plans to drill 10 gas wells in the Delta and Mediterranean regions by the end of the current fiscal year and prepare to drill a further nine. It also intends to conduct a seismic survey and sign development contracts worth $378mn.
Tariq al-Mulla, the Egyptian minister of petroleum and mineral resources, said via teleconference on March 14 that the nation’s gas potential put it at a competitive edge in the region. Egypt became a net importer of natural gas in 2015 due to increased demand and dwindling output. But thanks to rising offshore production, it now has gas spare and wants to position itself as a regional energy hub.
Egypt has fast-tracked gas developments offshore. The Eni-operated Zohr project, with an estimated 30 trillion ft3 (850bn m3) in place, is the largest gas field in the Mediterranean. It was discovered in 2015 and commissioned just two years later.