Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi announced that the country has lowered its renewable energy target for 2040 to 40%, a significant reduction from the previous goal of 58%.
He emphasized that natural gas will continue to play a crucial role in the country’s energy mix for the foreseeable future.
Before hosting the COP27 climate summit in 2022, Egypt committed to increasing renewable energy production to 42% by 2035, advancing this target to 2030.
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In June 2024, then-Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker unveiled an ambitious plan to raise this figure to 58% by 2040, a target that has now been abandoned.
During the opening session of the Mediterranean Energy Conference 2024, Badawi indicated the need for collective efforts to enhance energy discoveries and attract more investments, particularly in natural gas exploration, which he described as a resource-rich region.
This shift towards fossil fuels comes as Egypt seeks to rebuild relationships with foreign oil companies. These companies had scaled back operations due to a foreign currency shortage that left the country with substantial arrears.
Since taking office in July, Badawi has engaged with various international energy firms, including Italy’s Eni, which plans to begin drilling new wells in Egypt’s largest gas field, Zohr, in early 2025 to boost production.
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While gas production at Zohr peaked at 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in 2019, it has since declined to 1.9 bcf/d by early 2024, prompting Egypt to increase gas imports through a pipeline with Israel and to rely on liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to prevent prolonged load shedding.
Additionally, Egypt has seen a rise in high-sulphur fuel oil imports, with September figures reaching 255,000 barrels per day (bpd), marking the highest level since at least 2016.