Supergiant gas field found off Egypt is ‘largest ever in the Mediterranean’

A supergiant natural gas field – the largest in the Mediterranean Sea – has been discovered off the coast of Egypt. The find could yet become one of the world’s most significant, possibly holding up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. The discovery by Italian oil company ENI “in the deep waters of Egypt” is spread over an area of 38.6 square miles (100 sq km) and could supply the country for decades.

This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt in which we have been welcomed for over 60 years

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi

The discovery was announced a day after ENI’s CEO Claudio Descalzi met Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo to update him on the development. Eni has been in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC. It is the main hydrocarbon producer in Egypt, with a daily production of 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent. "The Egyptian government is very happy with this find,“ spokesman Hamdi Abdelaziz said, adding that the gas would be extracted for domestic consumption only.  "We hope to become self-sufficient by 2020.”

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