Egypt reveals major natural gas discovery in Mediterranean

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tariq El-Molla yesterday announced a major natural gas discovery in the Narges field in the eastern Mediterranean.

The discovery is now in the evaluation stage which aims to ascertain the size of the reserves, the minister added.

Egypt’s target is for the volume of natural gas

exports in 2023 to reach $1 billion per month, up from $600 million per month currently, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA), which quoted Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.

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Last month, El-Molla announced that Egypt had exported around eight million tonnes of liquefied natural gas in 2022, 90 per cent to European Union markets.

“Our sovereignty over our wealth is indisputable. We have a large discovery in the Narges field the quantity of which has not been determined, and it will be announced; its production volume is good. The [Egyptian] state’s rights and share are reserved with the foreign partner,” El-Molla said.

He added that “the challenges and repercussions created by the Russian-Ukrainian war and the rise in oil prices created pressure and moves

from the global powers to speed up the transition to clean and renewable energy.”

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