Energy: a domestic and international challenge
p. 112-113
Texte intégral
| 1956 | 85% | 2008 | 2018 |
| Creation of the Egyptian General Petroleum Company | Percentage of electricity production from hydrocarbons in 2015 | Cooperation agreement with Russia to develop civil nuclear power | Exploitation of the Zohr gas field |
| Sources : IRENA | |||
1Egypt possesses sizeable hydrocarbon resources but cannot compare with the main international producers. The country is very dependent on hydrocarbons for electricity production, since the role played by hydroelectricity has shrunk: 7% in 2016 as against more than 63% in the 1970s. Natural gas has become the largest source of primary energy since 2016 thanks to new thermal power stations.
2010-2015: an energy crisis
2From around 1975, hydrocarbons began to give the population access to cheap energy, with the return of the Sinai, oil wells in the Gulf of Suez, and gas rigs in the Nile Delta. State subsidies on fuel and electricity encouraged the widespread use of motor vehicles and energy-consuming industries, such as cement works. Until 2011 the export of hydrocarbons, to Israel among others, guaranteed an income for the State.
3The energy situation became somewhat less carefree at the end of the first decade of the 21st century as oil production dipped (from the heights of 1996), followed by gas (after 2011), while domestic consumption increased with demographic growth and the rising number of cars. Egypt became a net importer of oil during the 2000s and then of liquefied natural gas in 2012 through a lack of investment in exploration and exploitation of gas fields. Power cuts, a sure sign of shortages, began to increase in 2012 during peak summer consumption periods, and contributed to discontent with the government of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 2014, a cut in subsidies on electricity was instituted (total removal planned for 2026) and then on fuel. In 2017 the liberalisation of the gas market became law, ending the monopoly held by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), a State body.
The Zohr gas field: new prospects
4In 2015 the Italian company ENI discovered in Egyptian territorial waters the largest natural gas field in the eastern Mediterranean: this is a game-changer. The field, holding 850 billion m3 according to ENI, should allow Egypt to be autonomous in energy production for three decades. The country halted importing gas and started exporting in 2019. The Egyptian authorities hope to transform the country into a regional energy hub by making its underutilised infrastructure available to neighbouring countries: Cyprus (Aphrodite Field) and Israel (Leviathan and Tamar Fields) will be able to use Egyptian gas liquefaction plants in order to export into the Near East (Jordan) and Europe; Egyptian oil refineries are in the process of being modernised (the largest refinery capacity in Africa) and, thanks to its strategic position, Egypt intends to export oil products with high added value developed from imported crude.
Diversifying energy sources
5In 2014, the government launched a national strategy to diversify the country’s energy mix by 2035. Coal imports were permitted for industry to use in electricity generation, despite criticism citing the harmful effects on health and the environment, and the construction of coal-fired power stations to supply the national grid was to follow.
6Other alternative energy sources were encouraged. The proposed nuclear power plant at Dabaa, suspended after the Chernobyl disaster, was relaunched in conjunction with the Russian corporation Rosatom. Partial start up is planned for 2026 (four 1200 megawatt reactors) thanks to a Russian loan of $25 billion. The seafront sites of the nuclear- and coal-powered plants threaten to damage the tourist potential of the coasts.
7Projects to develop renewable energy (wind and solar) are being encouraged with the aim of providing 20% of national electricity production by 2022. The State is counting on private and foreign investment while positioning itself as the regulator guaranteeing quality service for the consumer. This redeployment of the State’s role in the energy sector leaves room for new stakeholders whose motives and objectives might sometimes be different.
6.18 Energy in Egypt

Auteurs
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Wahel Rashid
Wahel Rashid, PhD student in geography, Institut français de géopolitique, University of Paris 8, grant holder with the CEDEJ in 2016
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Karine Bennafla
Karine Bennafla, professor of geography at Jean Moulin University of Lyon, affiliated to the research group EVS (Environnement, Ville, Société) – UMR 5600. She was director of the Centre for Economic, Legal and Social Studies and Documentation (CEDEJ) in Cairo from 2015 to 2019
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