Egypt expected to become regional gas hub
The Egyptian government has recently announced that the country stopped importing liquefied natural gas and managed to achieve self-sufficiency thanks to the Zohr gas field, raising hopes that Egypt would become a regional gas trading and exporting hub.
Egypt's gas imports, which saved Egypt from frequent daily power cuts five years ago, has become a thing of the past, as Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Mulla announced Sept. 29 that the country stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
According to Mulla, Egypt has managed to achieve self-sufficiency in gas due to the Zohr gas field whose output increased six times since its inauguration in January.
In the past, Egypt had sufficient supplies of gas and was exporting gas by pipeline to Jordan and Israel. In 2004, Jordan and Egypt signed a gas trade agreement, and a similar deal was reached with Israel in 2005.
But the political and economic struggles that followed the January 25 Revolution affected the gas sector. In 2013, international oil-producing companies suspended operations as the Egyptian government stopped payments. As a result, the country suffered from an acute energy shortage and daily electricity blackouts occurred. To end its energy crisis, Egypt resorted to importing gas from Algeria, Jordan, France and Russia in 2014.
