The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) plans to increase natural gas production by around 27%, or 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), to reach 6.5 bcf/d by June 2018, according to officials at EGAS, Amwal Al Ghad reports.

Production will increase because of output from new natural gas fields, such as Zohr, North Alexandria, and Nooros.

Egypt currently produces between 5.1 bcf/d and 5.2 bcf/d of natural gas and consumes approximately 6 bcf/d, according to Amwal Al Ghad.

To make up for its natural gas deficit, Egypt has turned to foreign suppliers to meet its domestic needs. In fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017, the government spent between $2.2-2.4 billion on LNG imports.