Italian energy group Eni and US energy major Chevron made a new gas discovery in Egypt’s Nargis block in the eastern Mediterranean. The eastern Mediterranean is a hotspot for gas exploration, with Egypt estimated to have a couple hundred trillion litres of natural gas scattered around four offshore locations, the most famous and fruitful of which is the Nargis block.

The Nargis Offshore Area is about 1,800 square kilometres, with the discovery being made specifically in the Nargis-1 well.

During the tail end of December, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced the discovery of a large gas field, also located in the Nargis block off the northeastern Mediterranean coast with a capacity of 3.5 trillion cubic feet - or nearly 100 trillion litres - of gas.

Egypt's gas output has increased by 66% during the past eight years, while export profits have increased 13-fold. In 2022 alone, Egypt exported more than 8 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas.