On Thursday, September 19, 2024, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Egypt is working to restore natural gas production at its fields by next summer, as the government takes steps to resolve its outstanding debts to production companies.
During a news conference, Madbouly stated that the drop in production was due to arrears but did not disclose the amount owed or when it would be repaid. In March, sources informed Reuters that the government had allocated up to $1.5 billion to pay foreign oil and gas companies operating in Egypt. These arrears accumulated during a prolonged foreign currency shortage, which has now improved.
Egypt has been grappling with power shortages amid high demand for cooling systems in the summer. The country generates most of its electricity from burning natural gas.
The government halted so-called load-shedding power cuts in July after some natural gas shipments arrived.
Madbouly assured that electricity load-shedding cuts would not return, noting that the government had allocated $2.5 billion to prevent them. He also mentioned plans to launch the first phase of the Egypt-Saudi power grid connection by the summer of 2025.
