Egypt receives 2 gas shipments out of 21

A ship carrying a liquefied natural gas shipment has already arrived at the Ain Sokhna port, Abdel-Aziz told media on Monday.

He added that another vessel carrying a natural gas shipment is being offloaded onto a gasification ship, which will be liquefied and pumped into the country's gas network.

The remaining shipments are scheduled to be delivered within the summer months, he noted.

“We will have sufficient quantities of gas to avoid cutting off electricity during the summer,” the spokesman stressed.

Egypt has grappled with a shortage in natural gas supplies used for power generation, driven by the ongoing regional tensions and the unprecedented heatwave engulfing the country.

The soaring temperatures have led to a surge in electricity consumption across Egypt, as people heavily rely on air conditioning. This has, in turn, significantly increased the demand for gas to generate the required electricity.

As part of its plan to address the issue, the government announced the allocation of $1.18 billion to purchase the required quantities of petroleum products, including mazut and natural gas.

It also reduced the natural gas supply to fertilizer companies and ordered commercial stores across the country to close at 10 pm instead of 11 pm, to reduce the electricity load.

Last week, four of Egypt's prominent fertilizer manufacturers temporarily halted operations due to a severe shortage in gas supply.

Abdel-Aziz said halting gas supplies to fertilizer factories was a temporary measure, noting that large quantities of gas will be pumped to fertilizer factories during the coming period following the arrival of contracted shipments from abroad.