By Ayomide Otitoju
Egypt and Italian energy giant Eni on Tuesday announced a significant natural gas discovery off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, as the country grapples with energy supply challenges linked to the ongoing regional conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
In a joint statement, the company said preliminary estimates indicate reserves of about two trillion cubic feet of gas at the Temsah oil and gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean. Egypt’s petroleum ministry added that the discovery also contains approximately 130 million barrels of petroleum condensates.
The ministry noted that the find forms part of broader efforts to boost domestic production, offset natural declines in output, and reduce the country’s growing import bill.
Egypt has faced mounting pressure on its energy supply in recent months, with gas imports from Qatar and Israel significantly disrupted by the conflict. In response, authorities have introduced energy-saving measures, including business curfews, fuel price increases, and a slowdown in government projects.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly recently disclosed that the country’s monthly natural gas import bill has nearly tripled, rising from $560 million to $1.65 billion.
The petroleum ministry said the Denise W well is currently being prepared for testing, after which additional wells will be drilled and an offshore production platform constructed before full production begins.
The latest development follows another recent discovery in Egypt’s Western Desert in partnership with Apache Corporation, expected to produce about 26 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Despite previous ambitions to achieve energy self-sufficiency—bolstered by the 2015 discovery of the Zohr Gas Field, the region’s largest gas reserve—Egypt has increasingly shifted toward becoming a regional processing and export hub, leveraging its liquefaction infrastructure to handle offshore gas from neighboring countries such as Cyprus.
