Egypt Daily News - Two Egyptian government sources said that the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will stop exporting liquefied natural gas shipments starting next May, coinciding with the country’s rise in gas consumption during the summer months, and to meet the needs of electricity stations for natural gas.
The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity began implementing load-reducing schedules on the national electricity grid after the end of the period specified by the Cabinet to stop work during the month of Ramadan and the Eid Al-Fitr holiday. These schedules included a load shedding period from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for two hours.
One of the sources said that the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum was committed during last March and this April to exporting quantities of liquefied gas approaching 80 thousand tons to markets in Europe, which are the last shipments that will be exported abroad, after which all the gas available in the Egyptian market will be directed to consumption. the local.
In June 2022, Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Union and Israel to increase gas exports to the European Union, with the aim of supplying Europe with Israeli gas through the Egyptian liquefaction stations in Idku and Damietta on the Mediterranean Sea.
He added that Egypt's current consumption of natural gas amounts to about 6 billion cubic feet per day before the peak of consumption in the summer months. As temperatures rise, it is expected to range between 6.2 and 6.3 billion cubic feet per day.
He pointed out that the continued rise in gas consumption and the decline in production will prompt the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum to import some liquefied gas shipments.
Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla said, on the sidelines of an oil and gas industry conference in July 2023, that rising temperatures in the summer enhance the demand for gas for cooling purposes in Egypt.
Another source said that Egypt's natural gas production is currently at the level of 5.2 and 5.4 billion cubic feet per day and is directed entirely to the local market in addition to the quantities that are imported from Israel.
He revealed the stability of natural gas flows from Israel to Egypt at the level of 1.1 and 1.15 billion cubic feet per day, which are quantities determined periodically by consensus between the two countries according to the quantities of gas produced in Israeli fields, indicating that Israeli gas imports to Egypt may exceed 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. During the summer months.
Egypt uses natural gas imports from Israel as part of its efforts to meet some of its local needs in case of need, or exports it in the form of liquefied gas, after liquefying it at the Damietta and Edku stations.
The source stressed the inevitability of expanding search and exploration operations for oil and natural gas through new proposals for bids to maximize gas production resources and compensate for the decrease occurring at the level of currently existing fields, especially in the deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea, which Egypt depends on as a major tributary for natural gas production.
Egypt transformed from a net importer of gas to an exporter in late 2018, thanks to the rapid growth in its supplies, supported by the discovery of the largest gas field in the Mediterranean.
Natural gas exports from Egypt reached a record level of 8 million tons in 2022
