The decision to award the consortium the project was based on its offer of $33.67564 per megawatt-hour (MWh), the lowest electricity cost compared with other competing bids.

The move will significantly increase output of a project conceived to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas.

Gas prices in Europe rose sharply after Germany’s energy regulator suspended the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 underwater pipeline taking Russian gas to Germany.

The Energy Ministry said that oil production was still below 718,000 bpd produced in October 2018, when members of OPEC+ agreed to reduce oil production gradually.