Egypt denied reports its giant Zohr gas field was facing technical problems, in a statement on Monday, instead highlighting investments to boost its production.
Total investment in the offshore gas field has reached $12 billion and is expected to hit $15 billion in three years, the government said in a statement on Monday.
"The field is operating at full capacity while news of technical issues is incorrect", it said, responding to what it described as reports the field could be shut down. Work is underway on the field's 20th well, after which it is expected to produce 2.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), according to the statement.
Zohr was discovered in 2015 by Italy's Eni and began producing in late 2017. It holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The field in the Mediterranean Sea is operated by Petrobel, a joint venture of Eni and state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC). Spokespeople for Eni were not immediately available to comment outside of office hours.
The project is jointly owned by Eni, Rosneft, BP, Mubadala Petroleum as well as the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).
(Reuters - Reporting By Momen Saeed Atallah; Writing by Moaz Abd-Alaziz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool and Sonali Paul)
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