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    Egypt Ramps up Output 12.4% in 2019-20

Summary

The Egas CEO also noted that a record number of vehicles had been converted to run on gas during the 12-month period.

by: Joe Murphy

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Egypt Ramps up Output 12.4% in 2019-20

Egypt increased its gas production by 12.4% year on year to a record 7.2bn ft3/day in the 12 months ending June 30, the CEO of state-owned supplier Egas, Magdy Galal, said on September 20.

National consumption of gas in the period averaged 5.8bn ft3/day, with 60% used for power generation, 23% in industry, 11% in the oil sector and 6% in households and vehicles, Galal said in a statement posted by Egypt's ministry of petroleum and resources.

Egyptian gas production began rising again in 2017 after the launch of the 30-trillion ft3 Zohr field by Italy's Eni, ending years of decline. Eni and its partners have found a number of other offshore fields since then – most recently one at the Abu Madi West lease in the Nile Delta.

Galal also noted that the year up to June 30 had seen a record number of vehicles – 42,300 – converted to run on gas, bringing the total number of Egyptian natural gas vehicles (NGVs) on the road to 318,300. Some 19 more compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations were added during the 12-month period, raising the total number to 206.

The Egyptian government wants to see as many as 1.3mn vehicles converted to use gas, and has mandated that new cars will need to operate on gas before receiving a licence. It has also supported the development of NGV fuelling infrastructure. Authorities want to capitalise more on the country's ample gas resources, estimated by BP at 75.5 trillion ft3 proven, while bringing down costs for motorists.