Over the past few years, Egypt has been working on its assets and potential to cope with global changes. Despite challenges like the Coronavirus and the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Egyptian oil and gas sector has proved worthy of investments as it has made worth-noting achievements thanks to the efforts exerted to develop this sector.

Steps towards Energy Security

Egypt has been walking on the right track to ensure attracting investment opportunities to the hydrocarbon industries to guarantee energy security. The Egyptian political leadership had implemented several economic reform programs that supported the national economy and energy sectors. These economic reforms have enhanced the country’s investment climate and attracted foreign investments to the oil and gas sector.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources adapted in 2016 the Modernization Program, which aims to develop the sector and its performance across the upstream, midstream, and downstream levels. A part of the program is for the ministry to ensure the digitalization of the oil and gas sector.

Thanks to the digital transformation, Egypt was ready to keep going despite the Coronavirus Pandemic’s social distancing. Additionally, implementing digital means in the transportation of hydrocarbon products guaranteed the delivery of all market needs and standing up to the black markets of petroleum products.

The Egyptian government is still working on its energy security to ensure the availability of all the citizens’ needs in time. In this regard, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly are holding periodic meetings with the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to follow up on the exploration and production (E&P) activities, and the availability of hydrocarbon products.

Egypt’s Energy, A Success Story

Egypt successfully had several achievements in the oil and gas industry, despite the global challenges, which shows a capable sector as well as wise and timely reforms. The performance of the Egyptian petroleum sector over the past eight years reflects the efficiency of planning and implementation of the strategic objectives set by the Ministry and launched through an integrated vision for the development and modernization of the sector and a national economic reform program, El Molla commented on the sector’s success story.

Accordingly, Egypt has witnessed a shift from having a deficit in the oil trade balance to achieving a surplus, as the sector achieved for the first time in many years a surplus in the trade balance for the year 2018/2019, which amounted to about EGP 9.9 billion. The surplus in the petroleum trade balance during 2021 amounted to around EGP 46.4 billion.

Moreover, the amount injected from the oil and gas sector into the state’s public treasury for the year 2020/21 amounted to about EGP 33 billion, compared to a deficit of around EGP 77.4 billion in 2016/17.

Meanwhile, the petroleum sector successfully converted the growth rate of the gas industry during the previous years from a negative 11% to a positive 25% in 2018/19, which enabled the country to achieve self-sufficiency in gas, and secure all the citizens’ natural gas needs, and resume exports. Additionally, the growth rate of the refining sector reached about 25% in 2019/20.

Over the past eight years, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has made several achievements thanks to the efforts of the leadership and employees and the unity between all sectors. Today, the Egyptian oil and gas sector is standing out, attracting investors who have trust in the sector’s capabilities and its crisis management approach.