Egypt is surely breathing life to its ambition of dominating the gas market development in the region. A report yesterday said the North African country exported some 8 million tons of liquefied natural gas last year, worth $8 to $8.5 billion, quoting the country’s mineral resources ministry.
The mineral resource ministry however took note of the price rally in liquefied natural gas [LNG] that helped drive revenues higher.
The report said Egypt plans to become one of the biggest players in the region. The country’s ambition took shape after the 2015 discovery of the giant Zohr field by Italy’s Eni. Zohr has reserves estimated at 850 billion cubic meters of gas.
Earlier this week, Egypt reportedly granted Exxon oil and gas exploration rights to two offshore blocks in the outer Nile Delta. Exploration in the blocks is slated to begin later this year, with Exxon having full operatorship of both with a 100% stake.
Also Read: Eni Boss Points Way To Africa For Europe’s Natural Gas Supply
The blocks cover 11,000 square kilometers. Last month, Egypt announced a gas discovery in its section of the Mediterranean, in a block operated by Chevron. The discovery could hold some 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Bloomberg reported
Egypt has some 2.21 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves and produced over 95 billion cubic meters as of 2021, with exports at 12 billion cubic meters in that year, which was an annual increase of 58%.
Enhanced by the gas shortage in Europe since last year, records of Egypt gas exports increased further last year, with most of Egypt’s LNG exports going to that continent.
In the last eight years, Egypt’s gas export revenues reportedly increased 13 times, with exports themselves swelling four times in the period. On the other hand, production during the same period increased by over 66%.
Also Read: Egypt In Multiple Green Hydrogen Project Agreements From Europe
Last year, Egypt signed a deal with Israel and the European Union to boost gas deliveries from the two formers to the latter, with the EU encouraging EU-based energy companies to participate in exploration projects in Egypt and Israel.
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