Editing Economy of Egypt (section)

==== Hydrocarbons ====
[[File:Egypt nat gas exports.png|thumb|Egypt's net natural gas exports.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eia.gov/international/?fips=eg|title=International - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)|website=www.eia.gov}}</ref>]]
[[File:Egypt oil imports.png|thumb|Egypt's oil consumption is overtaking oil production.]]

The Egyptian government has long prioritized expanding the [[petrochemical industry]] and increasing natural gas exports. By 2009, 38% of locally produced natural gas was allocated for export. However, declining crude oil production, peaking at {{convert|941000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on}} in 1993 before falling to {{convert|630000|oilbbl/d|abbr=on}} by 2008, led Egypt to shift focus toward natural gas. By 2008, gas production had reached 48.3 billion cubic meters, though rising domestic consumption turned Egypt into a net oil importer by 2008–2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/egypt/|title=The World Factbook|access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref>

In 2014, Egypt prioritized domestic gas consumption over exports, significantly reducing international supply. The country also signed a 15-year agreement with Israel to import 7 billion cubic meters of gas annually from the Leviathan field.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/egypt-would-approve-bgs-israel-gas-deal-if-local-demand-is-met-1404751523] Wall Street Journal article in Egypt's gas</ref> A year later, BP announced a $12 billion investment in Egypt’s natural gas sector, primarily in the West Nile Delta project, which now produces nearly 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d). BP also developed the Atoll field (300 million standard cubic feet per day) and the North Damietta concession, with production from the Qattameya discovery starting in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/business/international/bp-signs-12-billion-deal-to-develop-natural-gas-in-egypt.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/business/international/bp-signs-12-billion-deal-to-develop-natural-gas-in-egypt.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|title=BP Signs $12 Billion Deal to Develop Natural Gas in Egypt|first=Stanley|last=Reed|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 March 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/what-we-do/bp-worldwide/bp-in-egypt.html | title=BP in Egypt | publisher=BP | access-date=28 February 2025 }}</ref>

The [[Zohr gas field]], discovered by [[Eni]] in 2015, remains the Mediterranean’s largest natural gas find, with estimated reserves of 30 trillion cubic feet. Production began in December 2017, reaching 2.7 bcf/d by August 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.eni.com/en-IT/actions/global-activities/egypt/zohr.html | title=Zohr Gas Field – Egypt | publisher=Eni | access-date=28 February 2025 }}</ref> However, recent technical challenges have reduced Zohr’s output, leading to domestic supply constraints and increased reliance on imports. Egypt has secured agreements with Cyprus to import gas from the Cronos and Aphrodite fields, processing it in Idku and Damietta for LNG exports to Europe. Efforts to revitalize Zohr include new drilling plans to increase production by 220 million cubic feet per day.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/50/1202/541105/AlAhram-Weekly/Economy/Tightening-the-deficit-on-gas.aspx | title=Tightening the Deficit on Gas | publisher=Al-Ahram Weekly | date=22 February 2024 | access-date=28 February 2025 }}</ref>