Before hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (cup27), I pledged Egypt By raising renewable energy production to 42 percent of the energy mix by 2035 and later accelerating it to 2030. In June 2024, then-Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker announced an ambitious plan to raise this percentage to 58 percent by 2040, a goal that has now been abandoned..
Badawi said,Natural gas It will be relied upon as fuel for many years to come… This is a message to all of us to work together to increase discoveries and attract more investments through bids that are put forward for research and exploration to achieve new discoveries in the region that holds more wealth, especially natural gas.“.
The continued reliance on fossil fuels comes as Egypt works to rebuild confidence with foreign oil companies whose local operations have slowed after billions of dollars in payments were delayed due to a shortage of hard currency in the country..
Since taking office in July, Badawy has met with representatives of several international energy companies, including Italy’s Eni, which plans to start drilling new wells in the Zohr field, the largest gas field in Egypt, in early 2025 to increase production..
Gas production from the Zohr field peaked at 3.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2019, enabling the country to become a net exporter. But production fell to 1.9 billion cubic feet per day by early 2024, forcing Egypt to increase gas imports through a pipeline linking it to Israel as well as liquefied natural gas shipments to avoid a months-long load shedding plan..
Egypt also imports high-sulfur fuel oil, as its imports rose to 255,000 barrels per day in September, the highest level since at least 2016..
