Cairo – Mubasher: Dana Gas, the Middle East’s largest regional natural gas company, is to commence drilling in an Egyptian area with 20 trillion cubic feet potential gas reserves, according to the seismic data.

The drilling will begin in March or April in an area that may hold from 4 to 6 trillion cubic feet of gas, the UAE-based energy producer’s CEO Patrick Allman-Ward said.

Such gas reserves would place Dana’s potential find second only to Egypt’s supergiant Zohr gas field discovered by Italy’s Eni in 2015, according to Reuters.

Zohr, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, reignites Egypt’s gas industry and steps up the North African nation’s effort to be a regional gas re-export hub.

Allman-Ward stressed that this area, North Arish field, is only one “prospect” of three located in the company’s licensed area in Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

“All three together could be as much as 20 trillion cubic feet,” Reuters reported, citing the top official as saying.

Dana’s investments in the new explorations are “modest”, but it may inject $5 billion to develop the three prospects.