Egyptian natural gas fell sharply to a near two-year low in March amid weak domestic demand, competition from pipeline imports, and low LNG prices. Official data showed the country’s gas production fell from 190 million m³/day a year earlier to 153 million m³/day in March 2020, the weakest since April 2018.
The coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to a drop in Egypt’s gas consumption, which fell to 151 million m³/day in March from 162 million m³/day in the same month last year. Demand was also dragged by higher retail prices and improved efficiency in the power generation sector.
Upstream production faced competition from imports of Israeli gas via pipeline. Egyptian firm Dolphinus Energy signed a long-term contract to import gas from Israel’s Leviathan project. At the same time, falling LNG prices resulted in a halt in Egypt’s Idku facility, which has not produced any cargoes since March 9.
