The gas fields Giza and Fayoum are due to come online as part of the ongoing $12bn first phase of the project to develop Egypt’s North Alexandria Concession in Egypt’s West Nile Delta.

 Speaking on the sidelines of the IP Week conference in London, BP's Bernard Looney, chief executive for BP's upstream division, said that the project to develop the fields was seeing good progress.

In May 2017, BP announced the start of production from West Nile Delta development achieving first gas eight months ahead of schedule and production 20 per cent above its initial target.

 The West Nile Delta development, which includes five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks, is being developed as two separate projects.

 It is expected to be fully onstream in 2019.

 When fully onstream combined production from both projects is expected to reach up to almost 1.5 billion cubic feet a day (bcf/d).

 All the gas produced will be fed into the national gas grid.

 The first fields that came online as part of the West Nile Delta development were Taurus and Libra.

 BP announced that it was partnering with Russian-owned Dea to invest in the $12bn project to develop the West Nile Delta fields in March 2015.

 At the time BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said that it was the largest foreign direct investment in Egypt. Dudley said the project aimed to develop 5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources and 55m barrels of condensates.

 BP is the operator, with 82.75 per cent equity in the project partnership. DEA Deutsche Erdoel holds the remaining 17.25 per cent stake.