The oil sector is a key driver for the national economy’s stability and energy security. Through the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt has built a wide range of onshore and offshore fields, which enabled it meet the domestic needs and position itself as a regional energy hub.
Recently, the state has reached an agreement with international oil and gas companies -operating locally- to redevelop gas fields and lift production up by around 25 per cent during 2026.
The agreement targets recovering nearly 300 million cubic feet of gas per day through this year, marking about21 percent of the total gas production to be added to the national grid this year.
The government is planning to add approximately 1.4 billion cubic feet per day to the national grid over the year, while the current domestic gas production stands at around 4.2 billion cubic feet per day.
The government gives top priority to stimulating wells in the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta, which account for more than 95 percent of Egypt’s total gas output. The second phase will later extend development activities to onshore gas-producing areas.
Official data showed that old gas wells typically see a natural annual decline of about 10 percent. However, over the past five years, decline rates accelerated,ranging between 20 and 25 percent.
Egypt is doing its best to raise gas production, hitting a total production of about 6.5 billion cubic feet per day by 2027.
As part of the remedial plan, new mechanisms have been put in place to developfields and wells that have remained undeveloped since 2020. These measures include the use of deep drilling technologies and periodic injection programs designed to maximize daily well output, both from crude oil or natural gas.
Last week, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held a meeting with executives and officials from global oil and gas companies operating locally.They discussed an intensive roadmap to intensify exploration, development,and production activities, as well as increasing operational pace over the next five years.
The minister referred to the promising investment opportunities in areas that have not previously seen exploration activity, including parts of the western Mediterranean and the Western Desert.
For Egypt, boosting gas output is not only about meeting domestic demand but also about strengthening its role as a regional energy hub.
