BP to Invest $11B in Natural Gas Project in Egypt

DUBAI - BP Plc will invest $11 billion in a project to produce natural gas from a deep-water deposit in Egypt's Mediterranean basin, the country's State Information Service, or SIS, reported Tuesday.

BP is currently digging at a depth of 7,700 meters in the Mediterranean Sea to extract 1 billion square feet of natural gas per day, or about 20% of the north African country's energy output, said oil minister Osama Kamal, according to SIS website.

The project is expected to completed in four to five years and Egypt, which has Africa's third-largest gas reserves, will get the extracted natural gas for 40% of its prices, he said.

BP's Chief Executive Robert Dudley said the project is expected to produce 40% of Egypt's natural gas output.

The firm started digging the well Aug. 18 and would start exploration work next year, he added.

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