Egypt’s natural gas imports jumped by 148% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, reaching $1.73 billion, according to a source at the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) who spoke to Al Manassa.
The source attributed the sharp rise to government efforts to secure long-term supply contracts in response to falling domestic production. Local gas output has been in decline since 2023, creating a supply-demand gap that has disrupted electricity generation and industrial operations.
"The Ministry of Petroleum is purchasing gas shipments at prices ranging between $12 and $14 per mmBtu," the EGAS official said. They added that the government is negotiating to extend payment terms from nine months to 12 months to ease financial pressures.
Egypt consumes about 6.2 billion cubic feet of gas daily, with demand expected to rise during the summer months due to increased electricity consumption. The majority of Egypt's power stations rely on gas and mazut, a heavy fuel oil.
About 65% of the gas added to Egypt's national grid this year has come from existing fields, the EGAS source said, citing a lack of new discoveries. They emphasized that achieving self-sufficiency will require attracting foreign investment, especially in deepwater exploration in the Mediterranean and Red seas, where activity remains limited.
The production decline, which began in 2023, has caused repeated energy supply disruptions for key sectors, including power generation and heavy industry. Egypt began importing gas from Israel in 2020 to meet local demand.
In 2024, Egypt expanded its regasification capacity by leasing a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) from Australia’s Hoegh Galleon. This comes amid declining domestic output and interruptions in Israeli gas flows due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
On Sunday, the government slashed gas supplies to fertilizer and methanol factories by 50% for a period of 15 days. The move follows a notification from Israel about planned maintenance on a key export pipeline, which will reduce gas deliveries to Egypt during the summer peak, according to Asharq Business with Bloomberg.
"We are accelerating development plans for existing fields and expanding exploration programs in Egypt’s deep waters," the EGAS source said.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced three new oil and gas discoveries in concessions operated by Khalda, Petrobel, and GUPCO in the Western Desert and Gulf of Suez.
EGAS is considering using part of its new gas imports from Cyprus to meet domestic needs, covering 20% to 30% of projected demand, with the remainder to be re-exported after liquefaction, according to previous statements by a company official familiar with the imports file, speaking to Al Manassa.
