Eni Starts Up Next Egyptian Gas Field
Italian energy major Eni has launched production at the Baltim South West gas field off the coast of Egypt, it said on September 17.
The field, identified by Eni in June 2016, was brought on stream “in a record time” since a final investment decision (FID) on its development was taken in early 2018, the company said in a statement.
Baltim South West is situated in shallow waters 12 km off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, within the Baltim South development lease, and is estimated by Eni to hold 1 trillion ft3 of gas in place. The field lies some 10 km from the 2-trillion ft3 Nooros gas deposit, commissioned by Eni in late 2015.
Baltim South West’s first well is flowing at a rate of 100mn ft3/day from a platform connected via a 44-km pipeline to the onshore Abu Madi gas processing plant. Eni plans to launch five more wells in order to ramp up production to 500mn ft3/day by the second quarter of 2020.
Eni has a 50% interest in the contractor’s share of the Baltim South lease, while BP controls the other 50%. The Italian giant is a leading producer in Egypt, boasting 380,000 boe/day. Its flagship asset is the Zohr gas deposit, launched in December 2017. Rising output at Zohr and Baltim South West’s start-up are set to drive the company’s growth in the country over the next year. All the gas is sold domestically.