The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in cooperation with the European Union (EU) launched an energy efficiency capacity building program. This came during the EU’s Support the Technical and Financial Sustainability of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Sectors event.

Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, noted that the program will have a direct impact on reducing operating costs and improving companies’ finances, in addition to reducing emissions and combating climate change. The program aligns with the ministry’s Middle Management Program which aims to improve the sector’s efficiency and the national economy. Launching the program is also in line with Egypt 2030 Vision for sustainable development and the state’s strategy to improve energy efficiency by 2035. 

The minister stated that energy efficiency is an important pillar of the ministry’s Modernization Project denoting that through it, 17 companies have saved about $30 million. Additionally, the ministry in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), began two major projects to rationalize energy consumption in the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) and Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC).

Moreover, two studies on improving energy efficiency and developing production units are being prepared in Alexandria Petroleum Company and Nasr Petroleum Company. Several initiatives to improve energy efficiency are also being implemented in several companies in the sector in cooperation with the EU, World Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

For his part, the Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt, Ambassador Christian Berger, expressed the EU’s support for Egypt’s efforts to improve energy efficiency and developing oil and gas operations. He noted that Egypt has already become an influential regional player in light of the recent agreements signed with international oil companies (IOCs) and the inauguration of its petrochemical major projects. He also commended the signage of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) Charter, adding that the EU acknowledges Egypt’s petroleum companies’ efforts to improve energy efficiency and combating climate change.