Egypt expects the Damietta regasification vessel, which was damaged in a drone attack in July, to resume operations in the fourth quarter of the year.
The damaged vessel did not impact Egypt's gas market, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said.
Oil and gas exploration and production activity has been increasing following years of decline, with 112 new discoveries made over the past two years and crude output now on an upward path, Badawi said.
Among the discoveries is Eni's Denise find in the Mediterranean, estimated to hold about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas. Badawi said Eni had agreed to fast track production to late 2027 - a rapid timeline for a deepwater project that would typically take years longer.
Egypt also resumed work at Narges field, undeveloped since 2022, and brought BP's Fayoum-4 well online at 80 million cubic feet of gas per day.
In the Western Desert, new wells at the Meleiha fields are set to start production alongside facilities coming online in late September, after debt-related delays held up the necessary spending.
The new wells combined help offset the natural production decline, Badawi added.
Badawi said Egypt is positioning itself as a regional gas hub, with work underway to link four Cypriot offshore fields - starting with Cronos - to the Zohr field's facilities and the Damietta LNG export plant.
(Reuters)