BP has signed the final agreements of the West Nile Delta (WND) project to develop 142 Bcm (5 Tcf) of gas resources and 55 MMbbl of condensate, the company said in a March 6 statement. The deal will require an estimated investment of about $12 billion by BP and its partner.

Production from WND is expected to reach up to 36 MMcm/d (1.2 Bcf/d), equivalent to about 25% of Egypt’s current gas production. All the produced gas will be fed into Egypt’s national gas grid to meet the anticipated growth in local demand for energy. Production is expected to begin in 2017.

Gas will be produced from two BP-operated offshore concession blocks, North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater. BP expects that there is the potential through future exploration to add an additional 142 Bcm to 198 Bcm (5 Tcf to 7 Tcf) that could boost WND production with additional investments.