Egypt to Begin Production from Zohr Gas Field by late 2017

The CEO of Rosneft, the majority state-owned Russian oil company, said on Monday that the first gas production from Egypt's super giant Zohr gas field is scheduled by the end of 2017.

Igor Sechen's statement came during a meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail on Monday evening.

Discovered in August 2015 by Italian oil company Eni, Zohr is the largest natural gas field ever found in the Mediterranean, with an estimated 850 billion cubic metres of gas.

Last December, Rosneft agreed to acquire a 30-percent share of the Shorouk concession, which contains the Zohr gas field.

Egypt’s production of natural gas is currently estimated at around 4.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), and is expected to increase by 1.5 bcfd by the end of 2017, according to a statement from the petroleum ministry last month.