Saifaddin Galal
Research Expert North Africa
Natural gas industry in Egypt - statistics & facts
Egypt is the fourth largest holder of gas reserves on the African continent. The country held 63 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in 2021. In terms of production, Egypt ranked second, following only Algeria. Since 2016, natural gas production has been following an increasing trend (except in 2020) as a result of significant recent discoveries. On the other hand, Egypt was Africa's largest consumer of the hydrocarbon, with about 2.17 trillion cubic feet in 2021.
Major recent discoveries
Massive gas discoveries have strengthened Egypt's ambitions to become a major player in the Middle East and North Africa's energy market. Indeed, the yearly discoveries of gas fields have ranged between 12 and 18 since 2015. The most prominent was the Zohr field, which the Italian company Eni discovered in 2015, starting production in late 2017. This offshore field lies in the Shorouk concession in the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, as of 2019, almost two-thirds of the natural gas produced was in the Mediterranean. Most of the produced natural gas is domestically consumed, while only a small share is exported.Natural gas exports are predominantly LNG
Egypt has two pipelines to export natural gas in a gaseous form. The Arab Gas Pipeline transfers Egyptian gas to Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters yearly. Moreover, the East Mediterranean Gas pipeline (EMG) between Egypt and Israel could potentially move seven to nine billion cubic meters of gas annually. Initially built to transfer gas from Egypt to Israel, it currently moves gas in the other direction. However, the country's use of these pipelines for export is minimal, as Egypt mainly trades its gas in liquid form as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). In 2021, the total natural gas exported amounted to around 10.5 billion cubic meters. Of those, LNG exports reached some nine billion cubic meters. Egypt has two liquefaction plants with a combined capacity of 12 million tons per annum.Energy mix and COP 27
Natural gas plays a significant role in energy generation in the country. Some 57 percent of the energy consumed came from natural gas in 2020. In recent years, the government announced plans to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix, with a target of 42 percent to be reached by 2035. Egypt was the host country of the United Nations' 27th Conference of Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El Sheikh in November 2022. Countries meet yearly to discuss global climate goals and the action needed to reach them.
