One of the main factors contributing to the increase in gas connections was the ministry's initiative.
Natural Gas in Egypt: From a limited number of connections to over 14 million housing units - File Photo
Egypt's natural gas network has expanded to more than 14 million housing units across the country, reflecting the government's efforts to increase the number of beneficiaries of this service, which has replaced traditional gas cylinders, said Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
This initiative has helped to alleviate the financial burden on citizens and on the state's general budget. El Molla stated that the petroleum sector has delivered natural gas to over 8 million housing units in the past nine years, exceeding the number of units that were connected in the previous 34 years, which was limited to 6 million units.
One of the main factors contributing to the increase in gas connections was the ministry's initiative, launched in 2018 with presidential directives to facilitate the cost of connecting gas to new areas over a period of 7 years without a down payment or interest.
The total savings resulting from this shift from traditional gas cylinders to natural gas, which is now benefiting over 14 million housing units, amounted to 253 million cylinders, according to the state's general budget.
These comments were made during a periodic review of the progress of the national project to deliver natural gas to households and projects as part of the presidential initiative "Decent Life."
About 102 areas across the country have benefited from natural gas for the first time in the past few months of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, despite the challenges posed by the current global crisis, after the completion of the petroleum sector's work to connect the networks and launch natural gas to those areas. As part of the state's approach to the widespread use of prepaid meters in all facilities, about 1.805 million natural gas prepaid meters have been installed.
In July 2022, Egypt signed a new contract worth $4.5 billion with foreign energy firms to explore and produce oil and gas in the Red Sea, which is expected to help the country achieve its goal of becoming a regional hub for energy.
