UPDATE 1-Egypt's Baltim South West gas field starts production

(Adds detail from statement)

CAIRO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Egypt's Baltim South West offshore gas field backed by BP and Eni has started production of 100 million cubic feet of gas a day, the oil ministry said on Tuesday.

Output will rise to 500 million cubic feet of gas by the second quarter of 2020 when five wells are expected to be online, it said in a statement.

The Nile Delta field holds a potential 1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, Eni has said. The potential of the wider Great Nooros area is around 3 tcf, according to Eni.

BP and Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, each hold a 50% stake in the licence for Baltim South.

It is operated by Petrobel, a joint venture between IEOC and an Egyptian state energy firm.

Eni also discovered Egypt's giant offshore Zohr gas field, the largest in the Mediterranean, which is producing 2.7 billion cubic feet of gas daily and has helped attract wider investor interest in Egypt's gas market in recent years.

(Reporting by Cairo and Gdynia newsrooms)