The Egyptian Holding Company for Natural Gas (EGAS) aims to add about 3.2bn cubic feet of gas per day (scf/day) to local production by mid-2022, compensating for the rates of natural gas decline and increasing the total production.
A source in EGAS told Daily News Egypt that it is planned to implement development for about 15 natural gas projects in different concession areas throughout Egypt.
He explained that the projects planned for development are actually discovered and will contribute to compensating for the natural decline in Egypt’s gas production during the next three years, which maintains production rates at 7.5 bn scf/day at a maximum.
The source pointed out that a number of foreign companies are currently searching for new oil discoveries in several places, the Mediterranean, the Nile Delta, the eastern and western desert and the Gulf of Suez, to increase gas production rates and expand exports through the liquefaction factories and the Jordan Line. In addition, the South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) is about to award the bid for research and exploration for oil and gas in concession areas in the Red Sea.
It is worth noting that Egypt’s gas production decreased to about 4.5 bn scf/day during 2015/2016, as a result of increasing rates of natural decline in well production and the failure to achieve new discoveries on production during the past years.
The source said that the increase in natural gas production locally contributed to achieving self-sufficiency and stopping importing LNG shipments. He added that Egypt has returned to the market to export gas shipments by force through the Idku plant for liquefaction in quantities exceeding 1 bn scf/day, and through the Jordan line, which gets about 350m scf/day.
He pointed to the increase in gas production rates to about 7.5 bn scf/day, and crude oil and condensates to about 700,000 barrels per day, during the current fiscal year to contribute to securing the needs of the local market of fuel products.
He explained that the rate of gas and fuel consumption in the local market is growing annually, according to the industrial development plan.
