Egypt's exports of natural gas has declined by 86.41 percent during the month of August to US$26 million from $192 million a year ago, the Egyptian Cabinet of Ministers' Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) released on Sunday.
Moreover, Egypt’s natural gas exports have declined since 2009 because of increasing consumption and declining production. Egypt’s government has been diverting natural gas supplies away from exports to the local market, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) report.
Natural gas production in the 2013 period reached 2.99 million tons compared to 3.6 million tons year-on-year according to Petroleum Ministry figures. Egypt thus has started importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) since September 2014.
Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismaeil mentioned recently that Egypt imports petroleum products and LPG gas worth US$900 million monthly to meet the domestic demands for fuel.
He added that most of Egypt's fuel needs are provided by Saudi Arabia.
The rise in dollar prices has represented a significant burden on the Egyptian oil sector, he added.
It is worth mentioning that Egypt reached a deal last August with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to receive shipments of petroleum products with soft commercial terms and credit facilities for one year.
