Production from Rosetta gas field to cease in July

The daily production of 40bn cubic feet of gas from the Rosetta field in Shell’s Rashid concession area will cease in July 2017, as the company refuses to pay for field development to offset the natural decline in production while dues owed by Egyptian government continue to accumulate.

A senior source at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) told Daily News Egypt that development of Rosetta gas field requires huge funds but lacks economic feasibility to the foreign partner based on the current price of the gas produced from there.

BP acquired the Rosetta gas treatment plant in Rashid from Shell for $128m and received the field in April, then began preparing to link production of Fayoum and Giza fields to it.

The source said that the maximum daily capacity of the Rosetta gas treatment plant is 425m cubic feet of gas, of which 420m cubic feet will come from Fayoum and Giza fields by 2019.