Egypt's President and Eni CEO discuss gas production

Eni, an Italian energy company, said that Egypt's President met with its CEO on Monday in order to discuss measures aimed at boosting gas production. The meeting came after Egypt was forced to use the LNG market to meet domestic demand.

Egypt had planned to be a major exporter of gas after Eni found the huge Zohr offshore gas field in 2015. However, domestic gas production has fallen since 2021 and reached a six-year minimum this year.

In the first half of 2018, the average production of Zohr field was 1.9 billion cubic foot per day (bcf/d), well below the record set in 2019. This has fueled speculation that there are technical problems and the investment will be halted at this giant field.

Guido Brusco, Eni’s Chief Operating Office for Global Resources, said in a Friday conference call that the Italian company would begin activities to restore some of the gas production at Zohr by the start of next year.

A statement stated that on Monday, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi about Egypt's involvement in developing a hub for gas in the eastern Mediterranean as well as the group's determination to accelerate the decarbonisation of the world through the reduction of methane emissions and other energy efficiency measures.

Three trading sources said earlier this month Egypt was planning to launch a tender to procure up to 20 LNG cargoes to meet the demand for the first quarter 2025.

(source: Reuters)