Today, global energy security, especially in terms of oil and gas, is affected by several international events such as the repeated Coronavirus lockdowns, the Russian attack on Ukraine, and turbulences in global markets.  Amid the world energy crunch and prospects of economic crises, Egypt is working on several levels to boost its production of hydrocarbon and green energy in order to contribute to providing a part of the world’s energy demands and help its economy to navigates the looming international recession wave. Therefore, the Egyptian cabinet and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoP) have been taking several steps in this regard helped by the reforms they implemented in the past few years.

Boosting Hydrocarbon Production

In the past years, the MoP has adopted a Modernization program to enhance the whole oil and gas industry in Egypt. In June, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, praised the achievements made by the sector, saying that the past years witnessed growth in Egypt’s natural gas resources and optimal exploitation of them; this included unprecedented development of oil refineries, value-added industries, infrastructure, sustainability in securing fuel supplies, as well as a shift in the performance of public oil sector companies, digital transformation, keeping pace with climate change and other areas of the petroleum industry.

Over the course of 8 years of planning and reforming the petroleum sector, Egypt attracted more oil and gas investments in order to develop petroleum resources and make new discoveries, these efforts include the Ministry’s successful attempts to digitalize the oil and gas sector.

Therefore, over the past 8 years, Egypt achieved 401 new petroleum discoveries, divided into 281 crude oil and 120 natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean, the Western and Eastern Deserts, the Delta, Sinai, and the Gulf of Suez. The 401 discoveries helped Egypt add 503 million barrels of oil and condensates reserves, and about 39.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

Natural Gas Hub

As Russia shut the Nord Stream 1 Pipeline in early September, which resulted in a huge lack of natural gas supply for Europe, Egypt is trying to boost its liquified natural gas exports through various attempts. In fact, Egypt has already been increasing exports gradually as the value of exports from the Egyptian petroleum sector increased, thanks to the natural gas growth, to reach about $13 billion in 2021, compared to $7 billion in 2020, an increase of 84.3%. From January to the end of April 2022, Egypt exported natural and liquefied gas at a value of $3.9 billion.

Egypt is targeting another increase in natural gas exports as it is working on boosting production. The Egyptian government is further working on decreasing gas consumption to have more gas available for exports. This comes as the government is urging its citizens to rationalize not only natural gas usage but also the consumption of electricity, as a huge part of Egypt’s electricity is generated using natural gas. El announced that the decision to rationalize electricity consumption, which was adopted in August, contributed to saving large quantities of natural gas used in operating power stations, and two shipments of natural gas were exported in additional to the usual quantities of gas for export.

Green Energy

As the world strives to use low-carbon energy sources, there is a great opportunity for Egypt to play a role in facing climate change, by producing green hydrogen and blue hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy, for which Egypt has great potential. Meanwhile, blue hydrogen is made from natural gas, of which Egypt has a surplus.

Egypt has been inking several agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for the production of green, blue hydrogen, and ammonia. In March, Egypt signed an MoU with Scatec to construct Egypt’s first ammonia plant, to start production in 2025. According to Scatec, Egypt will export green ammonia to European and Asian markets.

In a meeting with Norway’s FM Huitfeldt in March, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated that Egypt is determined to implement several massive green hydrogen projects with the aim become a regional hub for energy.

With the vision to become an energy hub, Egypt boosts its production of natural gas, as well as green hydrogen and ammonia to take part in the energy transition aspired by the globe. Therefore, Egypt is keen to boost its output and export natural gas and green energy to Europe and Asia.