Egypt’s consumption of natural gas has risen to approximately 4.5 million tons per month, an official at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) told Amwal Al Ghad.

In August, Egypt consumed 4.577 million tons of natural gas, a 29.6% increase from the 3.531 million tons the country consumed in August 2016, Egypt Oil & Gas previous reported based on statistics released by Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Production has been unable to keep up with demand. Egypt produces approximately 3.3 million tons of natural gas per month, or 73% of domestic demand, the official noted, leaving a deficit of around 1.2 million tons per month.

To reduce this deficit, EGAS plans to increase production by 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by June 2018, Amwal Al Ghad reported.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources expects that rising production from new gas fields, most notably the Zohr field, will lead to natural gas self-sufficiency within two years, Amwal Al Ghad reports.