Eni Makes Egypt's Largest Agiba Gas Discovery in Over 15 Years

Italian energy company Eni has announced a significant natural gas discovery in Egypt’s Western Desert, providing a potential boost to the country’s efforts to increase domestic energy production and reduce growing dependence on imported gas.

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources confirmed the discovery on May 21, describing it as the largest find made in the past 15 years by Agiba Petroleum, the joint venture between Eni and the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

The discovery was made through the Bostan-1X exploration well, located in Egypt’s Western Desert southwest of Cairo. The well was drilled by the Egyptian Drilling Company.

According to the ministry, the field contains an estimated 330 billion cubic feet of natural gas alongside approximately 10 million barrels of condensates and oil. The location is situated about 10 kilometres from existing production infrastructure, which could allow the field to be connected and brought into production relatively quickly.

While Egyptian authorities have welcomed the discovery, industry observers have offered a more measured assessment. A source quoted by Upstream described Bostan-1X as a sizeable discovery within the Western Desert region but not one that would rank among the country’s largest gas finds.

Production Decline Raises Pressure

The discovery arrives at a critical time for Egypt’s energy sector, which has been grappling with declining natural gas production in recent years.

Much of the pressure has stemmed from lower output at the Zohr gas field, Egypt’s largest natural gas asset and one of the biggest discoveries ever made in the Mediterranean. Zohr previously accounted for around 40% of the country’s gas production, but output has fallen significantly over the last four years.

Water intrusion into parts of the reservoir and declining pressure levels have reduced production capacity, forcing operators to limit extraction rates in order to protect the field’s long-term performance.

The decline has had a direct impact on Egypt’s energy balance. After achieving natural gas self-sufficiency in 2018, the country resumed gas imports during 2024 as domestic production struggled to meet demand.

By the summer of 2025, Egypt was facing an estimated supply shortfall of 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, making it the largest net importer of natural gas in the region.

Exploration Drive Continues

In response, Egyptian authorities have intensified efforts to increase domestic production through new exploration campaigns and incentives aimed at attracting investment.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced plans in August 2025 to raise national gas production to 6.6 billion cubic feet per day by 2027, up from roughly 4.1 billion cubic feet currently.

The government also plans to drill more than 100 exploration wells this year as part of a broader strategy to identify new reserves and accelerate development of existing discoveries.

Officials said the Bostan-1X find supports the government’s approach of encouraging exploration near existing producing fields, where discoveries can be developed more quickly and at lower cost because of existing infrastructure.

The latest discovery adds to Eni’s long-standing presence in Egypt. Earlier this year, the company reported another significant gas find in the Mediterranean Sea, estimated to contain around 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 130 million barrels of condensates. Together, the discoveries could contribute to Egypt’s efforts to strengthen domestic energy supplies and ease pressure on gas imports in the years ahead.