President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, commenting on the issue of gas imports from Israel, announced that the government is no party to that agreement, but it is managed by the private sector, noting that “we as a state have nothing to hide.” The statement came as part of his speech at the inauguration of the Investors Service Centre at the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation on Tuesday.
“We will get the gas from another region according to the rules of the market,” Al-Sisi said. “We scored a goal on the gas issue. We have become a regional hub for the gas industry in the region and we have incentives and facilities to handle gas in Egypt that do not exist in Eastern Mediterranean countries.”
In order for Egypt to become a regional gas hub, Al-Sisi said the county needs to establish gas liquefaction and processing plants, as Egypt already has facilities that do not exist in the Mediterranean region to liquefy gas.
Al-Sisi pointed out that private companies import gas depending on market prices for the purpose of processing and re-exporting. He continued saying that the cheapest return from the proceeds of gas is to use it as fuel in domestic industries, such as the petrochemical industry, to achieve an added value from the gas.
The president noted that Egyptian consumption of gas, diesel, and gasoline amounted to $1.3bn per month and the total annual consumption reached EGP 12-13bn.
