The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Sameh Fahmy denied rumors around the government’s intention to import gas from any country, pointing out that any investment proposals with effective cost to support the Egyptian national security will be issued by specialties in the petroleum sector.

That came during a press conference held to view the plans of the petroleum sector for 2010.
Fahmy assured that the ministry’s priority is to use the natural gas for the domestic market through plans approved by the government, spotting out the existence of some challenges facing the division represented in a steady increase in the consumption rates of petroleum products. This increasing rate contributed to the increase the petroleum subsidies bill, estimated by 66 billion Egyptian pounds this year, reflecting an increase of 14 billion pounds last year, stressing that the goal of gas production this year is to cover the domestic market.