Is Eni about to announce a natural gas discovery 3x the size of Zohr? Italy’s Eni could unlock as much as 90 tcf of natural gas reserves from the Noor field in the offshore North Sinai Shorouk concession, Gulf-based Arab News writes, citing a combination of ministry sources and recent remarks by former oil minister Osama Kamal. That would make it about 3x the size of the supergiant Zohr gas field, if true. (The key is paragraph four, so make sure you scroll down if you’re hitting up the link.) Kamal said in a televised interview her expects the government to announce new gas discoveries in the East Mediterranean in just a “few days” (watch, runtime: 20:21).

Background: The Cabinet had approved last month a USD 105 mn exploration campaign in the Mediterranean off the coast of North Sinai by Eni and Tharwa. Reports last week said that Eni was planning to invest as much as USD 3 bn in Egypt in the coming period as production ramps up at the Zohr and Nooros fields. Eni and Tharwa Petroleum are planning to begin drilling their first exploratory well in the Noor gas field before the end of August after obtaining final permits, an Oil Ministry source tells Youm7. Eni, which holds an 85% stake in the concession, is expecting to complete seismic studies of the area in a few weeks’ time. Egypt has just about achieved natural gas sufficiency and has plans to begin exports by 4Q2018 or 1Q2019.