Egypt's Zohr Gas Field to Begin Production within Weeks after Drilling Resumed

An Egyptian flag flutters in Cairo, Egypt, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
An Egyptian flag flutters in Cairo, Egypt, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt's Zohr Gas Field to Begin Production within Weeks after Drilling Resumed

An Egyptian flag flutters in Cairo, Egypt, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
An Egyptian flag flutters in Cairo, Egypt, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egypt's giant Zohr gas field will start production after resuming drilling within weeks, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday.

He also said that operator ENI had a plan to expand drilling in the next two years.

Production had been curbed because of arrears owed to foreign oil companies, Reuters reported.

A drilling ship arrived in Egypt in January as Eni began working on increasing production from the offshore field, Egypt's petroleum ministry said last month.

Average production at Zohr was 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in the first half of 2024, well below a peak reached in 2019.



World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
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World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

Myanmar's beleaguered economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 fiscal year largely due to the devastating impact of a powerful earthquake in late March, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday.

The World Bank said direct damages to property and infrastructure from the 7.7 magnitude quake were estimated at $11 billion, or 14% of the nation's gross domestic product, estimating that economic output would be about $2 billion lower than it otherwise would have been because of the quake.

The quake affected more than 17 million people, with nine million severely impacted, the World Bank said. The death toll has topped 3,700, according to Myanmar's ruling junta.

"The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar's people," Melinda Good, Division Director for Thailand and Myanmar, said a statement.
"Recovery efforts are essential to help the most vulnerable populations."

A junta spokesman did not respond to a call from Reuters seeking comment on the report.

In December, the World Bank had projected Myanmar's economy would shrink 1% in the 2024/25 fiscal year that ended in March due to the severe flooding in the country.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, sparking a civil war. There have been international efforts to stall the conflict, but rebels have accused the junta of breaching a ceasefire called to allow relief efforts to reach earthquake-affected areas.

The hardest-hit regions of Mandalay and Naypyidaw were expected to lose up to one-third of their production between April and September before a partial recovery in the second half of the fiscal year, the World Bank said.

The earthquake could increase the national poverty rate by 2.8 percentage points, pushing more households into poverty, the report stated. A survey before the quake estimated the poverty rate at 31% in 2024.

"Myanmar's compounding crises have put household coping mechanisms under severe stress," said Kim Edwards, Senior Economist and Program Leader for Thailand and Myanmar.