The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources signed 26 agreements for exploration and production (E&P) activities to develop petroleum reserves in addition to pumping $6.3 billion in investments from 2018 to 2020, according to a detailed report by the Cabinet offering a two-year insight on the government’s work program in the aforementioned timeframe.

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) alone signed seven E&P agreements in order to develop  reserves and achieve more discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea. The report indicates that natural gas production amounted to 4,562 billion cubic feet (bcf), while the total production of crude, condensates, and butane reached 63 million tons (mmt). The ministry provided 4,288 bcf of natural gas for domestic consumption to meet the local market needs as well, while exports of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached about 380 bcf. During the same period, the ministry managed to meet the local market’s need for petroleum products by providing about 58.5 mmt.

The ministry also established several projects such as the marine cargo buoy with a capacity of 1 million barrels of crude oil per day (mmbbl/d) at Al-Hamra Petroleum Port and the hydrocracking complex for diesel at the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) in Mostorod. The ministry also completed the duplication project of Ras Bakr/Ras Ghareb/Assiut line with a length of 160 kilometers (km) to increase the efficiency of butane and provide strategic reserves in Upper Egypt.

Additionally, natural gas was connected to 2.3 million housing units, an increase of 15% over the plan and was connected to 141 new areas for the first time. Around 74,600 vehicles were converted to run on natural gas as well. The total produced quantities of petrochemical products reached about 8.2 mmt in which 5.9 mmt of them were exported. As for the production of ores and mineral products, it reached 14.5 mmt, while the proceeds of mineral resources development amounted to about $256 million.