The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has reduced gas imports to around 700mcf/d from 1bf/d in November, Daily News Egypt reports.

The reduction is a response to declining domestic consumption that fell to the level of 2.6bct/d, down from 2.85bcf/d in November.

An EGAS official stated that gas provision had been fully restored to high-consumption factories in Egypt – approximately 906mcf/d.

EGAS provides 61mcf/d of gas to cement factories, the official said. He added that 25mcf/d are pumped to the National Cement Company, 25mcf/d to the Helwan Cement factory, and 11mcf/d to the El-Qatamiya Company.

Egypt uses around 1.3mcf/d of gas for domestic use in homes, cars, and small factories. Egypt’s total consumption is around 4.7bcf/d.

The official interviewed in the report stated that the two LNG ships in Ain El-Sokhna provide 700mcf/d of gas through import. The third ship is expected at the port by the end of 2016. As demand increases in the summer months, imports are expected to rise as of March 2016, while cuts to the industrial sector are to return favoring domestic consumption.