Italian oil producer Eni has reported a 66 per cent rise in second quarter profit amid higher oil prices and increased production from sites in Libya and Egypt.

Adjusted net profit rose to €767m ($893.3 million), but fell short of an analyst consensus forecast of €1bn.

In a statement the company said the increase was driven by the performance of the exploration and production business, which more than tripled its contribution to operating profit. Production growth has been fueled by the ramp-up of several large upstream projects around the world. These included the project to develop the Zohr gas field in Egypt and Bahr Essalam gas field in Libya.

Earlier this month Eni announced that phase two of Libya’s offshore Bahr Essalam project has started production. The development came three years after the final investment decision and should prolong the life of Libya’s largest producing offshore gas field. The project is operated by Mellitah Oil & Gas, which is a joint venture of Eni and Libya’s NOC.

Phase two of the project will potentially increase production from the field by 400 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

Speaking in April, Eni’s chief exploration officer Luca Bertelli said that Egypt’s Zohr gas field will continue to see production ramped up over 2018 before hitting its maximum output in 2019.

Zohr was discovered by Eni in 2015 and was brought online less than two and a half years after discovery. The Italian company announced it had started producing gas from the site last December. 

The discovery of Zohr has transformed Egypt’s energy sector and sparked a boom in energy project activity. It has potential gas reserves of 850 billion cubic metres and is located 180 kilometres (110 miles) from Port Said.

A total of 20 wells are expected to be drilled by the end of 2019.