Work at Egypt's Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean (Photo: Eni)
Italian energy company Eni on Thursday announced a new natural gas discovery off the Egyptian coast.
The discovery is in the Nour North Sinai Concession located in the Eastern Egyptian Mediterranean, some 50 kilometres north of the Sinai peninsula, which Eni operates with a 40 percent stake.
"The Nour-1 New Field Wildcat (NFW), which has led to the discovery, was drilled by the Scarabeo-9 semi-sub in a water depth of 295 metres and reached a total depth of 5,914 metres," the company said in a statement on its official website.
The Nour-1 well found an estimated gas column of 90 metres, Eni said, adding that the well has yet to be tested.
Eni said it would start the feasibility studies to "accelerate the exploitation of these new resources" after finalising the discovery evaluation.
Eni signed a concession agreement for exploration in the Nour prospect in August 2018.
In the joint concession with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Eni holds a 40 percent stake, British Petroleum holds 25 percent , Mubadala Petroleum 20 percent and Tharwa Petroleum Company 15 percent.
Eni’s 2015 discovery of the giant Mediterranean gas field Zohr, estimated to hold around 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, has promoted gas exploration in Egypt.
Short link: