Egypt and Italian energy giant ENI announced on Tuesday a "significant" natural gas discovery off Egypt's Mediterranean coast, as the North African country struggles to secure its energy needs due to the US and Israel's war with Iran. ENI made the discovery with the drilling of the Denise W exploration well, located about 70 kilometres offshore in the Eastern Mediterranean Temsah oil and gas field. Last month, Egypt announced another new discovery, with Apache Corporation, in its Western Desert, which the petroleum ministry said would yield 26 million cubic feet per day. Egypt has struggled with energy supplies in recent years, having sought to both meet its domestic needs and position itself as a regional energy hub. But in recent years Egypt has pivoted to position itself as a processing and export hub, using Egyptian liquefaction terminals to route offshore gas from other countries including Cyprus.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 07, 2026 21:03 UTC