The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) aims to add approximately 2.5 trillion cubic feet to its natural gas reserves over the next two months, a source at the petroleum ministry told Al Manassa. The move is intended to shore up a domestic energy sector increasingly strained by a widening gap between local production and consumption.
The urgency of this expansion is underscored by a trade deficit increasingly hollowed out by petroleum imports. According to fiscal data, energy imports surged to $19.4 billion in the 2024–2025 period, a $6 billion spike from the previous year.
This drain on national reserves, driven primarily by a $3.9 billion increase in natural gas imports and nearly $500 million in crude oil costs, has turned the pursuit of local extraction into a matter of urgent economic sovereignty.
The same source, who is familiar with the exploration files, told Al Manassa that EGAS plans to secure the targeted 2.5 trillion cubic feet by June 2026 through five new concession sites in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez.
Currently, the state is forced to import roughly 2 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day to bridge the gap between a daily demand of 6.2 bcf and a local production capacity that has plateaued at 4.2 bcf.
To close this gap, the government is leaning heavily on Western energy majors. New sites include concessions operated by Shell and Italy’s Eni, with foreign corporations expected to invest between $3 billion and $5 billion across the exploration and development phases.
On Saturday, the Ministry further announced a discovery in the Nile Delta at the Nidoco N-2 exploratory well, operated by Eni in partnership with British Petroleum (BP), with estimated production rates of 50 million cubic feet per day.
Despite these incremental gains, the government's recent announcements remain significantly smaller than the reserves of the Zohr field, which stands at 30 trillion cubic feet. While these targets are necessary for fiscal stability, analysts note they do not yet signal a return to the "Zohr era" of energy independence.
To sustain momentum, EGAS Executive Managing Director Sayed Selim confirmed in March the launch of a new international tender for gas exploration in the Western Mediterranean during 2026, as part of broader efforts to bolster investment and local discoveries.
