Cairo – Mubasher: The Italian oil and gas company Eni and the Egyptian Tharwa Petroleum Co will start drilling activities at Noor field in the concession of Theqa in the Mediterranean water before the end of August after obtaining the required approvals from the Egyptian petroleum ministry.

Eni, which holds an 85% stake in the field, is likely to complete the 3D seismic survey of the exploratory well within the few next weeks, local newspaper Youm 7 reported, citing an official source at the petroleum ministry.

In May, the Egyptian government had approved a $105 million agreement between Eni and Tharwa for oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean.

It is worth noting that the Italian oil and gas giant plans to invest $3 billion in Egypt over the coming period, in line with the increase in production from the fields of Zohr and Nooros field offshore Egypt.

Capitalising on the recent gas discoveries, Egypt is on track to become a natural gas self-sufficient by the last quarter of 2018.