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Saturday, April 20, 2024 14:0 GMT
Egypt has achieved record high levels across oil and gas fields during 2019, according to a report released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.Oil and gas agreementsOver the course of 2019, the North African nation signed eight new oil and gas exploration agreements with international companies with minimum investments of US$179 million for the drilling of 34 wells, the report showed.A total of 17 agreements have been ratified by the Egyptian parliament to be signed with minimum investments of more than US$1 billion and a signature bonus of US$173 million for the drilling of 86 wells.Moreover, 20 contracts have been signed for the development of fields in the Western Desert with a total signature bonus of US$10.3 million.Petroleum outputEgypt has recorded an all-time high output of 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent over the twelve-month period, according to the report.Natural gas production rose to unprecedented levels during the year, reaching 7.2 billion of cubic feet per day.Total petroleum output stood at 84.2 million tons, rising by 7% year-on-year from 2018.Petroleum consumptionTotal consumption of petroleum products and natural gas fell by 3.1% year-on-year in 2019, on the back of the gradual phasing out of fuel subsidies as part of the country’s economic reform program.Egypt has imported 11.7 million tons of petroleum products with a total value of US$6.8 billion during the year.The country’s petroleum consumption reached 76 million tons, including 30.2 million of petroleum products and 45.7 million of natural gas.Oil and gas discoveriesMoreover, Egypt has made 55 oil and gas discoveries during the twelve-month period, including 40 oil discoveries and 15 gas discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea, the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert, Gulf of Suez, Nile Delta, and Sinai.Arrears to foreign oil companiesThe report added that overdue payments owed by the Egyptian government to foreign partners in the oil and gas exploration field have dropped to its lowest level since 2010, registering US$900 million at the end of last June.Paying off arrears will help boost international confidence in the Egyptian market and encourage more international investments in the oil and gas exploration field, the report noted.Natural gas transmission pipelinesA total of six natural gas transmission pipeline have been operated in Egypt during the year, as part of the country’s efforts to expand its natural gas grid coverage.At a combined length of 292 kilometers, the six pipelines have been implemented at a total cost of EGP 4.7 billion.Natural gas supplyFurthermore, a total of 10.7 million residential units across all Egyptian governorates have been supplied with natural gas.The annual rate has been raised to 1.250 million residential units in 2019, with an average monthly rate of 100,000.Fuel stationsThe number of fuel stations in the country has increased to 3,655, including temporary-halted stations.During the year, 135 stations have been operated, including those that legalized their status, lifting the pressure on fuel stations in the most populous Arab nation.Natural gas-powered vehiclesThe report also highlighted that more than 43,000 vehicles have been converted to run on natural gas during the year.Accordingly, the total number of vehicles converted to operate on natural gas has increased to above 300,000.