The Chief executive officer of Italy’s largest oil company Eni, has said that the giant gas discovery in Egypt, announced recently by the company could be larger than initially reported.

According to him, the Zohr discovery reserves estimates could increase by further drilling in the area.

Eni who announced the discovery late in August, said the find, largest ever in the Mediterranean, could hold a potential of 30 tcf of lean gas in place (that is about 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place). Exploration is however expected to resume in 2016.

Claudio Descalzi on the field development, told Oil and gas people, that it would take up to $10 billion to bring the Zohr gas to production adding that the Italian oilfield services provider Saipem could play a significant role in the development.

The discovery last week stirred unrest in Israel, which had perceived Egypt as one of the consumers of its natural gas from the Tamar and yet to be developed Leviathan offshore fields and now sees the Zohr discovery as a threat to its gas exports.

The allegations was later dismissed by Noble Energy, the operator of both Tamar and Leviathan fields, saying the government of Egypt had publicly reiterated its support for the import of gas from Israel for both domestic and LNG export purposes.