An official in the oil and gas sector stated to Egypt Oil&Gas that the Egyptian Cabinet is considering the usage of coal as a fuel alternative to natural gas in fertilizers and cement factories starting January 2017. The Egyptian government  will start replacing natural gas with coal gradually in all industries after securing storage facilities and granting imports license to the private sector.

Substituting gas with coal comes as part of Egypt’s plan to save 10% annually on the  cost of  importing natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG). This initiative is estimated to yield monthly savings of  EGP 500m.

Coal usage in fertilizers and cement factories will conserve 25% of the nation’s natural gas consumption that can be redirected to electricity power plants, thus prevent power outages. Coal usage license will be renewed every 2 years after a specialized committee reviews the impacts of the coal-led facilitates on surrounding ecosystems. This will ensure that industries implement global environmental standards and regulation.