Italy’s Eni announced on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, that it had launched start-up activities at the Meleiha Phase 2 project in Egypt’s Western Desert. The development includes a new gas hub designed to process up to 100 million standard cubic feet a day, supporting domestic production and gas supplies to the Egyptian market.
The project is being implemented through Agiba Petroleum Company, a joint venture between Eni and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, within the Merged Meleiha concession. It comprises development wells, gas gathering systems, trunklines and a new dedicated gas pipeline connecting production to existing infrastructure, the company’s statement said.
The hub will process gas from the area’s fields, creating capacity to handle new production and improving its connection to the existing network. Eni said the development would contribute to increasing natural gas availability for the domestic market and developing Western Desert resources.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the facility would increase Eni’s gas processing capacity in Egypt and support output growth by connecting new production to the country’s existing infrastructure.
The figure of 100 million standard cubic feet per day represents the facility’s maximum design processing capacity. It does not mean the project has already added that volume to Egypt’s daily gas production. The announcement of start-up activities also does not, by itself, establish that the facility has reached full capacity: the published information did not specify initial gas flows or a timetable for reaching the maximum rate.
The announcement did not disclose the project’s investment cost, the expected net increase in Egypt’s gas production or its share of domestic demand. The available figures therefore do not establish its direct effect on gas imports or the country’s energy bill.
Eni has operated in Egypt since 1954. Its equity share of oil and gas production in the country amounted to approximately 242,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025. That figure covers its Egyptian operations as a whole and is not the output of Meleiha Phase 2.
Its Egyptian operations include exploration, development and production in the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, Nile Delta and Eastern Mediterranean, alongside a stake in the Damietta natural gas liquefaction plant. Its portfolio includes Zohr, Nooros, Baltim and Meleiha.
The new project adds infrastructure for processing and connecting gas from Western Desert fields. The volume of additional supplies that will actually reach the Egyptian market remains dependent on operating results and production rates that have yet to be disclosed.
Archival photograph of the LPG station at Belayim, South Sinai, 2017; it does not depict Meleiha Phase 2. Photograph: Mohamed Marzoook via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and framed with assistance from an image tool; the adaptation is available under the same licence.
