Minister of Petroleum Resources

On 16 December the largest offshore natural gas field in the Mediterranean, the Zohr Field, that covers an area of 100 square kilometres, started production. It could bring Egypt to the goal of self-sufficiency in energy sector by 2018 and to the export of gas by 2019. According to the British Petroleum Statistical Review the Egyptian gas consumption amounts to nearly 5 billion cubic feet per day and its total daily production is almost 4 billion cubic feet but Egypt planned to stop importing the fuel by the end of next year.  Petroleum Minister Tarek Al-Molla declared that The Zohr Field, together with the other two fields of North Alexandria and Nooros will rise the gas production by 50 per cent this year and 100 per cent by 2020. The Italian Eni in 2018 will invest into Egypt $3.5 billion, that corresponds to half the company’s annual investments. Recently the country has adopted several economic reforms in order to attract foreign investments, including  floating the currency and cutting subsidies. In addition the gas pricing formula is flexible instead of fixed as it was in the past. According to the law 196 the private sector can transport, store, market and trade natural gas using the country’s pipeline network, moving away from state monopolies.