One well down, as Saipem drillship moves to another to unlock more gas at Eni’s field

Italy’s energy giant Eni has completed the drilling of a well at a natural gas field in the Mediterranean off the coast of Egypt, using a drillship from the rig fleet of Saipem, a compatriot engineering, drilling, and construction services player.

Following the return of the Saipem 10000 drillship to the Zohr field in January 2025, drilling operations resumed in line with the approved development plan, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

The rig has since completed the drilling operations at the Zohr 6 well, which added approximately 60 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to the current production rates. This is seen as an important step to support the natural gas supply system during the current period.

The country’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources explains that this continues the positive results of its strategy, which aims to increase local production, provide energy resources and petroleum products to various state sectors, and meet the needs of citizens.

The rig has proceeded to finish its planned tasks and begin drilling the Zohr 13 well, which is expected to contribute 55 million cubic feet of gas per day, based on engineering studies, strengthening the local production system.

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources emphasized: “These positive results are an extension of the successful partnership between the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Eni, the Italian company operating the Zohr field. They complement previously agreed-upon development plans, ensuring the acceleration of drilling operations and field development using the latest global deepwater technologies.

“This is particularly true in light of the full support provided by the Egyptian government and its various agencies to encourage all investments in the Egyptian petroleum sector, maximize domestic production rates, and ensure energy security and the sustainability of its resources.”

Discovered in 2015, the Zohr field, which was brought on stream in 2017, reached a production level of 2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2018 and 2.7 bcfd in 2019 , when Eni hoped to reach the 3.2 bcfd target by the year’s end.

Seen as the largest ever-discovered field in the Mediterranean, the asset contains 480 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). Recent plans that came to light indicate that Eni intends to drill two gas wells at the Zohr field next year, for which it set aside an investment of $360 million.

The Italian giant is working on multiple oil and gas developments around the globe, including a natural gas field developed as a subsea tie-back to its floating production unit (FPU) offshore Indonesia.