Cairo: Egypt’s natural gas production rose by 1.6 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day in 2017, reaching 5.5bcf per day currently, Petroleum Minister Tarek Al Molla said on Sunday.

Production, which has increased thanks to newly discovered fields, will exceed 6bcf per day before the end of this calendar year, Molla said at a news conference.

Egypt has been seeking to speed up gas production from recently discovered fields, with an eye to halting imports by 2019.

Once an energy exporter, it has become an importer after domestic output failed to keep pace with rising demand.