Eni denies that it has made a massive gas discovery in Egypt: Eni denied much-hyped reports that it made a massive discovery at the Noor gas field off the coast of North Sinai, Reuters reports. “There are prospects and new (geological) structures in Egypt but we still haven’t discovered anything,” Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi told reporters on Monday. News reports last week had suggested that Eni could unlock as much as 90 tcf of natural gas reserves from the Noor field, a figure that would make it about 3x the size of the supergiant Zohr gas field. Oil Minister Tarek El Molla had downplayed the reports, stating that seismic studies had not yet been completed.

The warnings have done little to dampen the hype, with trade publication Petroleum Economist noting yesterday that Eni is hoping for a “second bonanza” when it came to Noor. “Eni is hoping that a good proportion of that so-far elusive gas will be in the Noor field off North Sinai. The Egyptian cabinet in March approved exploration plans, and Eni is to start preliminary drilling this summer. Only then will it become clear whether rumours that Noor holds even larger gas deposits than Zohr are true or false.”

In other Eni news, Descalzi pledged that the company will make a binding commitment to becoming carbon neutral, according to Reuters.