Egypt Races Against Time to Prevent Summer Blackouts as Israeli Strikes Disrupt Gas Supplies
Egypt is implementing emergency energy measures after Israeli strikes on Iran severely disrupted natural gas flows, threatening catastrophic summer power cuts across the nation.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced Saturday that the regional conflict has slashed Egypt’s gas supplies just as summer demand peaks. The country is now fast-tracking the deployment of two critical liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification vessels by early July in a desperate bid to maintain electricity generation.
The crisis has reached alarming proportions as Egypt’s domestic gas production has plummeted to just 4.1 billion cubic feet per day while demand has exploded beyond 6 billion cubic feet. The electricity sector alone devours nearly 60% of available supply, leaving the nation teetering on the edge of widespread blackouts.
Adding to the emergency, Israeli gas exports to Egypt have crashed by one billion cubic feet per day, with only 800 million cubic feet still flowing during the critical summer period. The government is now doubling fuel oil reserves and working around the clock to secure generation capacity.
The timing of this energy crunch coincides with a rare bright spot – a new oil discovery in the Western Desert that could yield 1,400 barrels daily and 1 million cubic feet of gas. However, this discovery pales in comparison to the massive supply shortfall Egypt now faces.
Source: english.ahram.org.eg