Since 2011, Egypt has found itself one way or another in global headlines. Recently, coverage of Egypt has focused on a series of huge natural gas discoveries. The excitement this has generated is not just limited to the government, however. The usually staid world of oil and gas cannot contain its excitement either. Before asking the important question of what all this actually means for ordinary Egyptians, let us first explore what has been happening in Egypt’s energy sector. The hype is real Oil and gas are important to Arab economies, and Egypt is no exception. There are currently more than 50 international oil companies working in Egypt. Italy’s ENI is the most prominent of these, and they were the ones to discover the much-publicized Zohr gas field in 2015. In its official press release, ENI described it as a “world class supergiant gas discovery,” and for good reason: it has an estimated capacity of at least 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, almost doubling Egypt’s reserves. As of 2017, Egypt had proven reserves of 3.3 billion barrels of oil and 62.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. “Zohr is…
Egypt Keeps Finding Natural Gas, But What Does That Actually Mean?
September 27, 2019
