West Nile Delta field 9B new output expected at 350-400 mcf/day -official

CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - New production at Shell'sWest Nile Delta field 9B is expected to reach 350-400mcf per day by 2019, an Egyptian petroleum ministry officialtold Reuters on Monday.

Separately, production from the first 3 wells in the fieldis set to begin in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the ministry saidin a statement earlier.

The field is owned by Egypt's General Petroleum Corporation(EGPC), Malaysia's Petronas and Shell.(Reporting by Ehab Farouk and Ahmed Ismail; writing by NadineAwadalla; editing by Jason Neely)