The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has issued its annual report for the fiscal year (FY) 2018/19.
“Egypt’s strategy to become a regional energy hub has been finalized and approved by authorities,” EGAS’s Chairman, Osama Ahmed Wafik Bakly, said.
Also, Bakly added that “Exploration is the growth milestone for natural gas reserves, where 15 discoveries were achieved during FY 2018/19 … EGAS continues to maximize natural gas reserves, attracting more investments and creating new job opportunities.”
EGAS international bid round:
The report revealed that the EGAS bid round in 2018 was for 16 blocks, which resulted in awarding of five blocks. A positive result of this bid round was that Exxon Mobil was back to exploring in Egypt and investing in new opportunities.
Agreements:
Thirty-three concession agreements had been signed between EGAS and major international oil companies (IOCs) for the period up to June 2019; 22 of those deals were signed with EGAS, while the others had been inked with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) under EGAS supervision.
Exploration:
During FY 2018/19, 15 new gas discoveries were announced (five in the Mediterranean Sea and 10 in the Western Desert) to add actual reserves of about 817 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) of gas and 2.2 million barrels of condensate in the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Desert.
Development and production projects:
Seven development projects were put on stream with a total cost of $10.6 billion, with an initial rate of about 1,923 million standard cubic feet (mmscf/d) of sales gas, in addition to 2,980 barrels per day (b/d) of condensate.
Similarly, 56 wells were put on stream with an initial rate of about 2280 mmscf/d of sales gas and 20.75 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) of condensate.
Moreover, total gas production reached 2.52 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf), while total sales gas stood at 2.33 tscf. Also, total condensate production reached 31.78 mmbbl, LPG production reached 1.2 million tons, propane production reached 561.2 million tons, and ethane/propane production reached 1261.9 million tons.
Consumption, export, and import:
The annual report clarified that the overall local consumption of natural gas reached 2,181.7 bscf, distributed thus by sector: electricity, 62.3%; industries, 22.5%; petroleum, gas derivatives, and petrochemicals, 10.1%; and residential and CNG, 5.1%.
Moreover, LNG exported from the Egyptian LNG plant reached 172.8 bcf (equivalent gas to LNG exported) through 45 cargoes.
In September 2018, EGAS succeed to reach self-sufficiency and stopped importing liquified natural gas (LNG), as it released (FSRU 1 “HOEGH GALLANT“) for a third party as LNG carrier to reduce hiring fees borne by EGAS and keeping (FSRU 2 “BW SINGAPORE”) as a strategic plan to secure gas supply, in case of gas production deficiency and operational problems occur in the national network. LNG imports were 51.56 bcf during FY2018/19.
A pipeline was established from the national grid to feed the ELNG plant with gas. In addition, EGAS reached an agreement with ELNG users to allow EGPC/EGAS gas to be liquefied in ELNG at discounted processing fees and to sell these cargoes as spot cargoes for the benefit of EGPC/EGAS, which is the first effective step towards Egypt becoming a regional gas hub.
Energy conservation:
EGAS has implemented several measures to rationalize the energy consumption of EGAS and its affiliated companies, as the savings achieved from energy consumption since 2011 reached about 2500 megawatt (mw) annually, estimated at around 36%.
During the year 2018-19, 15 companies achieved savings in energy consumption to record savings rates ranging between 2% to 20%.
Natural gas projects:
The national grid of natural gas reached a total length of 60 thousand kilometers (km), with a capacity of 240 million m3/day, for the period up to June 2019.
The total number of residential consumers reached 10 million since commencing the gas connection activity in 1981 till June 2019. Also, EGAS achieved a remarkable leap as the number of residential consumers connected with natural gas reached about 1.23 million. And the total converted vehicles reached 32,280 during 2018/2019.
The total investments spent by LDCs on natural gas connections reached EGP 2.983 million during 2018/2019.
Health, safety, and environment (HSE):
EGAS has maintained conformance with the requirements of both OHSAS 18001:2007 and ISO 14001:2015 standards accredited by DNV GL after the surveillance audit carried out in June 2019.
Additionally, EGAS reviewed the implementation of the national project of connecting households with natural gas, which aims at connecting 2.3 million households in 20 governorates.
