Italian Eni to drill two new gas wells in Zohr field

“We will start drilling by the end of this year because we haven’t been drilling well for the last three years. So, we restart drilling to recover,” Descalzi said in a video published by the Saudi website.

He asserts that the company will resume drilling gas wells in the Zohr field in Egypt by the end of this year.

Descalzi added that Eni will drill a well by the end of 2024 and the second in 2025.

Two years ago, several foreign oil and gas companies had suspended drilling for new oil wells in Egypt due to late dues.

In May, the Egyptian government announced that it had paid late dues to various oil companies to pave the way for a drilling resumption.

In June, Egypt paid $1.3 billion to settle outstanding obligations to foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country.

Zohr is a joint project between Eni, BP (Algeria), Rosneft (Russia), Mubadala Energy (UAE), and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

Eni discovered the Zohr Gas field in 2015, a breakthrough that enabled Egypt to reach gas self-sufficiency by 2018.

Eni has made significant oil discoveries in Egypt's Western Desert and has been operating gas facilities there.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources reported that the investment in the field's activities exceeded $677 million during the fiscal year 2023/2024.

In 2023, Eni committed to investing $7.7 billion in Egypt over the next four years to enhance its exploration and production activities in the country.

In related news, the Italian energy giant Eni has announced that it will begin deploying three drilling rigs in Egypt to boost oil production for the Egyptian Agiba Petroleum Company.