Petroceltic an Irish oil company is to begin drilling in 2016 at one of its prospects, situated close to a recent huge gas find off the coast of Egypt.

Recently, Italian energy group Eni announced the discovery of what has already been estimated as being one of the world’s largest natural gas fields, stretching for 100 km² and potentially holding as much as 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, or 5.5bn boe/d.

The find moreover has widened interest in Petroceltic, which holds two licences; one awarded in 2013 and the other late last year, around 5km west of Zohr. The North Thekah and North Port Fouad licence covers a combined acreage of about 7,000km².

Speaking at the North Port Fouad licence award last year, Petroceltic’s chief executive, Brian O’Cathain, stated that the company’s new Egyptian blocks are located in an area of the Mediterranean Sea which has yielded several world class discoveries in recent years.

Information on the Petroceltic web site according to Energy-pedia states that “the primary exploration targets in the North Thekah block are Nile Delta Oligocene and Levantine Basin Miocene plays on trend with the giant Leviathan and Tamar discoveries in Israel.”

It is however understood, that Petroceltic will now drill at the North Thekah licence next year, after receiving results from a 3D seismic activity before the end of this year. It is also believed that a similar 3D survey to the programme carried out there will proceed at North Port Fouad.