Egypt achieves self-sufficiency of natural gas for all state sectors in 2018
Global companies motivate to search for oil and gas quickly in the concession areas
New global bed is offered this year to search for gold in 7 areas at the Eastern desert
Foreign partners’ accumulated dues reach now $3.6 billion; setting a mechanism for ongoing repayment
Engineer Tarek Al Mula, Minister of Oil and Mineral Wealth, assured that Egypt’s production of natural gas will witness a breakthrough within 2017 in the light of the country’s directions to fasten the development plans of the explored gas fields. They will be added to the production and injected in the national network for natural gas to meet the needs of the local market.
Al Mulla added, in statements to MEO, that Egypt’s current production of natural gas amounts to 4.4 billion cubic feet per day, in addition that the production of more than one billion cubic feet per day is set to be extracted from the first phase of Zohr gas field by end of 2017, half billion cubic feet per day from North Alexandria gas fields before mid of 2017 and 870 million cubic feet from Nawras gas field which is going to increase after new wells entered to the production.
Al Mula highlighted that it will reflect on the natural gas as it will reduce the importing volumes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and relieve pressure on the hard currency to be available for other sectors. Successful gas explorations in the Mediterranean encouraged and stimulated the global companies on searching for oil and gas quickly in the concession areas adjacent to accomplished explorations, said Al Mula.
The minister pointed out that Egypt imports now about 1.2 billion cubic feet of LNG per day at a cost of $250 million monthly, referring that the projected production of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day will save about $280 million monthly if the current prices continue at the same rate.
Self-sufficiency of natural gas for the state sectors, which is set to be achievable in 2020-2021, is expected to be realized at end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 as a result of the measures of fastening exploration development plans, including electricity, industry, houses, cars, and value added industries such as petrochemicals industry and others that accomplish a rise of national economy, clarified Al Mula
The minister added that oil sector, taking the support of the state, has implemented the national plan to turn Egypt into a regional centre for energy trading. He refereed that the creation of the necessary climate to achieve this plan is one of important items in the new investment law, as well as the formation of ministerial committee presided by the Ministry of Oil and composed of all concerned entities and ministries.
The accumulated dues of foreign partners within previous years have reached now about $ 3.6 billion which vary according to the monthly buying bill of the partner’s share, Al Mula explained. He referred that the pricing of the new gas production is amended for stimulating the partners to fasten development plans of gas fields.
According to Al Mula, the Ministry of Oil agreed with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to schedule these dues and set a mechanism for their ongoing repayment. He explained that the CBE received the first trench of the World Bank’s loan, which makes US dollar much available and help to meet such obligations, notifying that there are procedures to repay part of the dues.
The minister referred that House of representatives is currently discussing a law for regulating gas affairs. According to the law, a body will be established to set mechanisms for regulating the gas market (Gas usage, trading, transfer, shipment, and re-change). It will also allow the private sector to enter this field, which is a preliminary step on the road to turn Egypt into a regional centre for energy.
Additionally, the minister illuminated that Ganoub Al Wadi Petroleum Holding Company’s projects which are launched last year to collect geophysical data onshore and offshore the red sea will be carried out by 5 global companies within 2017 to do two-dimension and three-dimension seismic survey for total investment of $ 750 million .The projects aim to update the available data and, for the first time, add new data about these areas which encourage research and exploration operations inside them.
This year will witness further boom in petrochemicals industry after they witnessed a development last year which resulted in adding the expansions of MOPCO and complex of ethylene and their derivatives to the production, Al Mula underlined.
As for the forthcoming project, the minister showed that some new projects will be carried out during 2017 for estimated investments of about $1.5 billion, including the first phase of the ammonia and its derivatives production’s project in Alexandria for investments of about $175 million and the propylene and polypropylene production’s project in Alexandria for investments of about $1.1 billion and the resins and medium density fiberboard production’s project in Kafr Al Sheikh for investments of about $85 million. As for mineral resources sector, it is planned to offer a new global bid during this year to search for gold in seven areas in the Eastern desert.
