Eni says it’s found ‘supergiant’ natural gas field off Egypt

Eni, one of the biggest gas and oil companies in Europe said on Sunday the Zohr discovery could become one of the largest finds of natural gas in the world and would play a huge role in meeting the natural gas demand in Egypt for decades once it becomes fully developed.

The Leviathan gas field near the Israeli coast had been the largest discovered in the Mediterranean Sea before Eni found the “supergiant” field in Zahr.

The company said the area was 1,450m (4,757 feet) beneath the surface and covered 100 sq km (60 sq miles).

With a large presence already established in Egypt, Eni said it expects to be able to quickly take advantage of its find. “They’ll likely have to meet domestic needs first, before any export plans are discussed”.

Eni has been in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC. “I think we can discover more,” Descalzi told the Financial Times, adding that the company would review the field “with the aim of accelerating a fast-track development” to utilise the resources as soon as possible.

Figures from HIS, a research company, show that discoveries of new gas and oil reserves fell to their lowest point in at least 20 years during 2014. The company has asked advisers to look at options for assets including interests in Nigerian oil and gas fields.

Eni’s find follows other significant gas discoveries in the Mediterranean in recent years, including by Egypt’s neighbour Israel.

In March, British energy giant BP unveiled plans to invest $12 billion (10.7 billion euros) in Egyptian offshore gas fields with Russian partner DEA, despite the slump in world oil prices.

Before the find, consulting firm Stratfor reported natural gas fields had been so small and so deep in the Mediterranean that Egyptian natural gas was worth only a third of the average price on the global market.

Earlier this month IS claimed to have beheaded a Croatian employee of a French oil and gas geology company, who was abducted in July near Cairo.