Egypt’s Zohr natural gas field has started production, bringing the country closer to its goal of energy self-sufficiency, according Egypt's Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources.

Gas from one of the world's largest offshore fields is pumped to a facility in Port Said city, to be prepared for delivery to the national distribution network, with initial production of 350 million cubic feet per day, Tarek El-Molla has said in a statement, noting that the daily output is set to rise to about 1 billion cubic feet in June and 2.7 billion by the end of 2019.

Production from Zohr will help the most populous Arab nation achieve "self-sufficiency of natural gas, ease the burden on the state budget and cut the imports bill," he added while addressing a conference organised in the Egyptian capital on the challenges faced by the country in areas of oil and gas and future prospects