Italian exploration and production firm Eni has brought on-stream the third production unit (T-2) of the Zohr gas project, located offshore Egypt within the Shorouk Block, to ramp up production from the field.
The start-up of the T-2 production unit, which is expected to result increased installed capacity at the project to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfp), follows one week after the second unit’s power-up.
Eni intends to continue with its plan to ramp up production at the field in a bid to achieve output of 2bcfd by the end of this year and the production plateau of 2.7bcfd in 2019.
Eni said in a statement: “The latest achievement reinforces the exceptional development path of Zohr, one of Eni’s seven record-breaking projects, which is playing a fundamental role in supporting Egypt’s independence from LNG imports.”
Claimed to be the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea, the Zohr field is located around 190km north of Port Said.
Eni holds a 60% stake in the Shorouk Block, while the Rosneft owns 30% stake and BP holding 10% interest.
According to estimates, the deepwater field holds approximately 30 trillion cubic feet of lean gas. The full field development plan involves drilling of 254 wells over its production life.
Production from the field commenced in December 2017, in less than two and a half years from the discovery.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “This project has been possible exploiting to the maximum level the competences, the skills as well as the human and infrastructural capabilities that this Country offers in terms of local content.
“It will completely transform Egypt’s energy landscape, allowing it to become self-sufficient and to turn from an importer of natural gas into a future exporter.”