Major Natural Gas Discovery Offshore Egypt; Striving for Self-Sufficiency by 2030

Egyptian media "Al Ahram" reported that the Egyptian oil and gas contractor, Italian energy giant "Eni Group," announced on the 7th a new natural gas discovery offshore in the Eastern Mediterranean of Egypt, with reserves estimated at 2 trillion cubic feet.

The report pointed out that this well is located in Egypt's Temsah concession area, 70 kilometers from the coast, at a water depth of 95 meters, and less than 10 kilometers from the existing Temsah gas field infrastructure. This newly drilled exploration well is also expected to produce 130,000 barrels of condensate per day, making it highly valuable for exploitation.

Egypt's population in 2024 is approximately 110 million. If calculated with a 50% power generation efficiency, the 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could generate 300 to 350 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to supplying basic household electricity (for cooking and hot water) for 60 to 70 million people for one year, excluding other industrial and commercial electricity.

The report noted that Egypt's current domestic natural gas daily production is close to 4.1 billion cubic feet, while daily demand is about 6.2 billion cubic feet, and due to rapid population growth, the pressure on energy demand continues to rise.

In addition, the ongoing US-Iran conflict has forced ships to reroute, disrupting the energy supply chain, and pushing global crude oil and petroleum product prices to historic highs. Egypt announced on March 10 to raise the prices of all vehicle gasoline and diesel, with increases ranging from 14% to 30%. The price of 95 unleaded gasoline is now 24 Egyptian pounds per liter (approximately NT$14.4).

The government has also taken various energy-saving measures, such as implementing a one-month temporary curfew starting March 28, requiring all businesses to close by 9 PM. All public outdoor lighting has also been dimmed to reduce energy consumption.

The report indicated that Egypt is actively accelerating its renewable energy expansion plan amidst this regional crisis. Furthermore, the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) has approved over $2 billion in export credit insurance for the export of US liquefied natural gas to Egypt. The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) also signed a $500 million agreement a few days ago with Arcius Energy (a joint venture between BP and ADNOC) to jointly develop the Harmattan gas field in the Mediterranean.

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said that the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will continue to drill more than 100 liquefied natural gas exploration wells in 2026 and continue to develop existing oil and gas wells to improve resource utilization and ensure new reserves, striving to achieve oil and gas self-sufficiency by 2030.

The "Eni Group" provides about 40% of Egypt's natural gas production and plans to continue investing $8 billion in Egypt over the next five years to explore, drill, and produce oil and gas in concession areas. (Editor: Chang Chih-hsuan) 1150408