Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum Tuesday said BP Egypt, a unit of BP PLC (BP), has discovered more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea.
The field is located in the North Giza 1 concession area, north of the governorate of Alexandria, Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy said in a statement.
The reserves are equivalent to nine months of local gas consumption, according to the ministry.
Currently, 65 multinational companies are conducting exploration activities across the country, with a rate of success that is three times more than the global rate, especially in the Mediterranean concessions, the statement said.
Egypt's proven gas reserves have doubled over the last seven years from 36 tcf in 1998-99 to 67 tcf in 2004-05. Potential reserves are estimated at 100-120 tcf with 70 tcf estimated to lie in deep waters making Egypt second in the world in terms of potential deep water reserves.
(Dow Jones Newswires)