BP confirmed that production has started from the super-giant Zohr gas field, offshore Egypt. Eni operates the field, through its joint venture with The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), and is the largest natural gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea.
The first gas was delivered from Zohr, completing BP’s programme of seven Upstream major project start-ups in 2017.
Zohr follows the former start-ups of the Khazzan project in Oman, Persephone in Australia, Juniper and the Onshore Compression project in Trinidad, Quad 204 in the UK, and the first phase of the West Nile Delta project, also in Egypt.
Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, said: “This is also an important strategic milestone for BP, marking the completion of one of the biggest development programmes we have ever delivered in a single year. Seven new upstream projects around the world have been brought safely into production in 2017, on average under budget and on schedule. We’re well on the way towards our goal of delivering 800,000 barrels a day production from our new projects by 2020.”
The Zohr gas field was discovered by Eni, back in August 2015 and is estimated to have a total potential of up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. Eni operates the Shourouk concession that contains the Zohr field, with BP completing its purchase of a 10% interest in the concession from Eni in February 2017 and Rosneft purchased a 30% interest from Eni in October 2017.
Hesham Mekawi, Regional President, BP North Africa noted: “The development of Zohr in a record time has brought a new critical source of energy to the Egyptian market. BP’s two other current major projects in Egypt – Atoll and the second phase of the West Nile Delta project – will bring further new gas resources into production. Together these projects will play an important role in supporting and reshaping Egypt’s energy sector.”
