Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, announced that Egyptian natural gas production rates have returned to growth and begun an upward trajectory after facing difficult challenges over the past four years.

The Minister explained that this increase resulted from the commitment to paying foreign partners’ dues and implementing investment incentives that encouraged intensifying drilling, production, and exploration activities. He noted that this achievement saved the state an additional fuel import bill estimated at about $3.5 billion during the last fiscal year.

Badawi pointed out that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources primarily focuses on continuing to increase local production through incentive measures that maximize the economic feasibility for partners and encourage investments in new explorations.

The Minister clarified that all current and future needs are secured, with a fully integrated system prepared for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG), including regasification ships and infrastructure sufficient to meet the full needs of all consuming sectors, foremost among them the electricity sector.

He indicated that this system ensures securing all industrial sector needs, contributing to continued growth in production and exports benefiting Egyptian industry.

The Egyptian Petroleum Minister confirmed that the gradually increasing local production alongside import capacities provides “safe and flexible alternatives to face any emergency,” stressing that the current strategy simultaneously works on increasing local production as a top priority through investment stimulation and technology use.

Regarding the mining sector, he explained that Egypt is on the verge of a new launch in exploring mineral wealth following recent reforms. He stated that the Mineral Resources Authority, after its transformation into an economic authority, will conduct the first comprehensive aerial survey of mining potentials in 40 years. The results will provide accurate data on mining opportunities and rare mineral elements, enhancing Egypt’s ability to attract global investments in this sector.

The petroleum, natural gas, and mineral resources sectors form the backbone of the Egyptian economy, contributing about 10-15% of the GDP, according to reports from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

In the last four years (2021-2024), natural gas faced significant challenges due to production decline from 67 billion cubic meters in 2022 to 56 billion cubic meters in 2024, caused by accumulated debts to foreign partners and slowed exploration, which pushed Egypt to import liquefied gas and increase the import bill.

Recently, there has been a recovery with production rising by about 200 million cubic feet per day and 39,000 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter of 2024, supported by debt repayments and launching new investment incentives, including international bidding rounds for 12 exploration areas in the Mediterranean Sea and the Delta.