ALBAWABA – All Israeli gas imports to Egypt have been suspended, the Egyptian government announced Sunday, after occupation authorities announced shutting down the Tamar gas field on October 9, amid the surprise Gaza attack.
The Egyptian cabinet said that Israeli gas imports have fallen from 800 thousand cubic feet per day (mcf/d) to zero at a time when warmer-than-usual weather has led to higher electricity demand.
Notably, Egypt exports some of the Israeli gas imports to Jordan and Europe. But this suspension, Bloomberg highlighted, could dash any hopes for a resumption of exports to the European Union.
Chevron, the company running the Tamar field as well as another major field, said Friday that it continued to honor some of its contracts with Egypt, Bloomberg reported.
In Egypt, power cuts have been in place since the middle of the year, with officials linking them to unusually high temperatures along. In addition to cost-saving measures as the country grapples with its worst foreign currency crisis in decades.
The cuts, which officials had managed to restrict to around an hour a day, have become another source of frustration for Egyptians already suffering from record inflation. The government has devalued the Egyptian pound three times since early 2022.
Meanwhile, some stipulate the government had been rationing its supplies of gas by running hour-long power cuts on a daily basis, even as the temperatures rise. But the government explained that other factors impacting the power cuts include a decline in electricity from renewable energy sources.
European natural gas prices rose after the government announced the suspension of Israeli gas imports to Egypt, BNN Bloomberg reported.
Nonetheless, Italian oil giant Eni said last week it expected Egypt to restart gas exports as domestic demand drops. These latest and any future related announcements will be watched closely by European gas traders.
Demand for gas in Egypt is increasing as production fell to its lowest levels in 3 years in 2023.
