BP has reached an agreement to invest around $12 billion (£8bn) to develop natural gas resources in Egypt.

The energy giant has signed the final agreements for the West Nile Delta (WND) project, which is expected to produce around 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcf/d) – equivalent to around 25% of Egypt’s current gas production.

All the produced gas will be fed into the nation’s gas grid to help meet the growth in local demand for energy.

Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive said: “The WND project investment is the largest foreign direct investment in Egypt and demonstrates our continued confidence in Egypt and our commitment to unlock its energy potential. WND production is key to Egypt’s energy security.”

Production is expected to start in 2017.