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.



Shell Denies Reports that the Energy Giant is in Talks to Take Over BP

FILE -This is the Shell Oil logo in front of a Shell gas station in Pittsburgh, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE -This is the Shell Oil logo in front of a Shell gas station in Pittsburgh, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
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Shell Denies Reports that the Energy Giant is in Talks to Take Over BP

FILE -This is the Shell Oil logo in front of a Shell gas station in Pittsburgh, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE -This is the Shell Oil logo in front of a Shell gas station in Pittsburgh, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

British oil giant Shell on Thursday denied media reports that it is in talks to buy rival BP.

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said Shell was holding “early stage talks,″ to acquire BP, citing people familiar with the matter.

“In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer,” Shell said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Shell has repeatedly denied speculation that it was considering a takeover of its smaller rival BP, saying it was focused on streamlining and simplifying its own business.

Some analysts have suggested BP would be an attractive takeover after a plan to shift its focus to renewable energy, which was abandoned earlier this year, left its shares undervalued in comparison to other oil companies.

BP has also struggled to recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 17 workers and forced the company to pay billions of dollars for environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico.