U.S. energy major Chevron and Italian energy group Eni announced on Sunday that they have made a gas discovery in an Egyptian offshore field located in the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Sea.
According to Egyptian state-owned EGAS, the volume of reserves in the well is being evaluated, while Chevron and Eni have sounded their intentions to begin production in the Nargis-1 well as soon as possible.
The Nargis-1 is part of Egypt’s Nargis Offshore Area concession operated by Chevron. The U.S. energy giant holds a 45% stake in the area, while Eni holds another 45% and EGAS holds the remaining 10% stake.
Clay Neff, president of Chevron International Exploration and Production, announced that his company is “encouraged and excited by the success of this first exploration well which encountered high-quality reservoirs.”
In addition to boosting Chevron’s business, the discovery is expected to advance Eni’s agenda to completely replace gas imports from Russia by 2025, particularly after the implementation of sanctions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine.
Since Eni’s discovery of the Zohr field in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2015, Egypt’s profile as a gas producer has been heightened. Aside from Egypt, Eni has also relied on imports from Israel to meet rising domestic demand.