As Egypt moves towards a greener future, the country looks at natural gas as a convenient green energy source at the time being. Natural gas is not only a cheaper source of energy, but it is also one of the main types of fossil fuels with less carbon emissions. Therefore, the Egyptian government is working on encouraging the use of natural gas, while rationalizing energy consumption to provide the European Union (EU) with natural gas as well.
Natural Gas: Clean, Cost-Efficient Energy Source
Natural gas is a cleaner energy source, that costs less compared to other sources of energy, thanks to Egypt’s growing production. In the past years, Egypt has been having a surplus in its natural gas production. In fact, Egypt produced 4.1173 million tons of natural gas in January 2023, according to Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)’ March monthly bulletin. Therefore, using natural gas as a source of energy is more cost-efficient compared to other imported fossil fuels.
Moreover, natural gas produces less pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to coal and oil. “About 117 pounds of CO2 are produced per million British thermal units (MMBtu) equivalent of natural gas compared with more than 200 pounds of CO2 per MMBtu of coal and more than 160 pounds per MMBtu of distillate fuel oil,” according to the US Energy Information Administration. Although renewable energy is cleaner, it is hugely expensive, and the country is not financially ready to totally shift to renewables yet. Therefore, natural gas is considered to be a transitional fuel needed for the time being.
Promoting Natural gas as a Fuel
Egypt has been encouraging the use of natural gas as a fuel instead of other fossil fuels. The country successfully delivered natural gas to 14 million households over 42 years, of which it was delivered to 7.6 million households during the period from June 2014 to November 2022, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR)’s achievements report. The Ministry of Finance announced in May that EGP 3.5 billion to be allocated for delivering natural gas to Egyptian households in its FY 2023/24 budget.
Moreover, 50,000 vehicles were converted to run with dual engine during the time between July 2022 to March 2023, which brings the total number of converted vehicles to 500,000 since the start of the project. This is according to the report received by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, in April, on the natural gas utilization expansion project for the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23. The report also mentioned that 61 new natural gas filling stations were established during the same period, boosting the total number of stations to 688 operated ones.
Rationalization to Boost Exports
The Egyptian government is calling for the rationalization of natural gas consumption as it works on supporting the European Union (EU) with its liquified natural gas (LNG) needs. Accordingly, Egypt is taking several steps to rationalize consumption, including activating the daylight-saving time in order to decrease the usage of electricity as it is believed to save electricity used in lights and air conditioners. Accordingly, the country’s natural gas consumption decreased by 4.27% in January 2023, reaching 3.7105 million tons, compared to 3.876 million tons used in January 2022, according to CAPMAS. Egypt successfully exported natural gas and LNG worth $7.8 billion during the first ten months of 2022, according to MoPMR’s achievements report.
During the months from January to April 2023, Egypt successfully exported 2.5 million tons of liquified natural gas (LNG) a source in the petroleum sector told Al-Ahram Gate. Egypt’s LNG exports in Q1 2023 were about 1.90 million tons. According to preliminary estimates, the two liquefied gas stations in Damietta and Idku exported around 1.44 million tons to European markets, the European Union (EU); Turkey; and Britain, equivalent to about 76% of Egypt’s total LNG exports during the quarter, Al Ahram reported.
Emissions Reduction
As the world faces climate change, Egypt is keen to decrease emissions to contribute to climate action. “Egypt committed to reduce emissions by 33% in the electricity sector (70 Mt CO2e), 65% in the oil and gas sector (1.7 Mt CO2e), and 7% in the transportation sector (9 Mt CO2e) by 2030 compared to business-as-usual, conditional on external support,” according to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Therefore, MoPMR is prioritizing projects that preserve the environment and reduce emissions as it seeks to boost energy efficiency. El Molla highlighted, in April 2023, Egypt’s achievement of EGP 2.8 billion in annual savings using recovered flare gases in operations as an alternative to diesel. The Zero Flare gas recovery projects that were implemented included twelve projects in companies, namely: Agiba, Khalda, Petrobel, Petrosannan, Bapetco, ZETCO, Borg El-Arab Petroleum, Norpetco, Gemsa Petroleum, Petroshahd, CORC, and Petrosilah, according to a report received by the minister.
As the government promotes the usage of natural gas and encourages gas flare recovery, the country will surely reduce emissions and preserve the environment. Natural gas is not only environmentally friendly, but it is a more economically feasible fossil fuel that is convenient in aiding energy transition for the time being.
