The West Nile Delta project (WND) by British Petroleum Company has a paramount importance, Beheira Governor Mohammad Sultan said on Wednesday.

The project agreement, concluded in March 2015, involves the development of 5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources and 55 million barrels of condensates.

Production from WND is expected to be around 1.2 billion cubic feet a day, equivalent to about 25 per cent of Egypt’s current gas production.

All the produced gas will be fed into the country’s national gas grid. Production is expected to start in 2017.

In a session held to discuss the draft assessement results of the environmental and social impact of the project, the governor said that the country's leadership gives top priority to the project.

The session was attended by a number of top officials and members of the BP Company.