According to the Assistant Vice Chairperson at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Amira El-Mazni, the number of companies applying for licenses to import natural gas from abroad has increased to five companies, reported Daily News Egypt.

El-Mazni explained that the most recent of the five companies came in applying for obtaining the licenses in mid July 2016. This took place in a meeting that was organised by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA), where official representatives from EGAS and the Egyptian National Gas Company (GASCO) were present to discuss the latest developments on the gas market in terms of the new gas law.

According to Ecofin Agency, the deficit between supply and demand in the natural gas market in Egypt has reached about 700mcf/d and is expected to increase to 1.77bcf/d during the 2017/2018 financial year.

There were both Egyptian and foreign companies among the five applicants; one of them was a European company that is headquartered in Dubai, this company applied for the license on behalf of its Dubai office.

EGAS will be providing at least two companies with the licenses within the coming two months. The other companies will be granted the remaining licenses gradually in the near future.