Egypt has announced a new natural gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea, with early estimates putting about 200 billion cubic feet of gas in the reservoir. The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said on Friday that drilling at the Nasim-1X exploratory well in the Taiba concession had found a gas-bearing layer around 15 metres thick, according to Oil & Gas Journal.

The well sits in the Temsah concession area in the eastern Mediterranean. Technical and reservoir studies are still under way to establish how much of the gas can be produced, what daily output might be, and whether the discovery is commercially viable. The ministry has not yet said when production could begin.

Egypt plans to connect the well to existing production facilities through a pipeline of about 22 kilometres, linking it to the Abu Madi-El Gamil pipeline network. The Taiba concession is operated by Italian energy company Eni in partnership with Australia's Woodside, while Egypt's Petrobel carried out the drilling work.

The find comes as Egypt works to lift domestic gas output and cut its reliance on imports. A new domestic source close to existing pipelines could be brought into production faster than a standalone development, although officials stressed that the 200 billion cubic feet figure is a preliminary estimate of gas in place, not a confirmed recoverable reserve.