CAIRO - 21 February 2022: The cabinet media center asserted that the state has devised a promising plan to turn the country to a regional hub for gas trade and contribute to secure the needs of the international market especially with the high demand on liquified natural gas (LNG) in the European markets.
 
This came in a report published Monday by the Cabinet media center including an infograph shedding light on Egypt's efforts to join the list of the biggest LNG suppliers to major markets consuming gas after it achieved self-sufficiency rates.
 
The center underlined Egypt's strong infrastructure of pipeline networks and factories for liquefied natural gas as well as its harbors that have qualified it to play an important role in this regard, in addition to launching a natural strategy to lure in foreign investments in the field of exploration and inspection for oil and gas, international bidding, recent clinched agreements and the founding of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum have been vital in Egypt's efforts to enhance its exporting capabilities and to become a key player in the global gas market.
 
The report unveiled that Egypt ranked 14 internationally, the fifth regional and the second in Africa as per the production of gas in 2020 with an annual production of 58.5 billion cubic meters, according to British Petroleum, which is the third world-wide private oil company.
 
Egypt maintained its production and exportation levels of natural gas despite the coronavirus pandemic, the report said. In 2020-2021, Egypt's volume of production hit 66.2 billion cubic meters, while consumption levels stood at 62.9 billion cubic meters, with a surplus of 3.3 billion cubic meters.
 
Egypt has succeeded in achieving self-sufficiency of gas in September 2018, restoring its place in the global natural gas and LNG market, with its production reached up to 66.1 billion cubic meters and consumption rate of 61.8 billion cm and a surplus of 4.3 billion cm.
 
Egypt has started to become a natural gas exporter in 2012-2014 with a volume of production standing at 52.2 billion cubic meters, while in 2017-2018 production rate reached up to 54.6 billion cubic meters, added the reported.
 
The report also reviewed international efforts exerted by Egypt to place itself on the world map of natural gas trading as Cairo signed 99 maritime oil agreements with global companies to explore for gas and oil with investments of $ 17 billion as deals worth $ 1.1 billion were signed to dig in 384 wells during the period from July 2014 till June 2021.