Egypt Energy Situation E03

Consumption

Egypt is by far the largest consumer of oil and natural gas in Africa, showing 22% of petroleum and other liquids of the continent's total consumption and 37% of its dry natural gas consumption.

The main drivers of the rapid growth of the country's consumption of oil and natural gas can be summarized in the following:

1. The increased industrial output.
2. Economic growth.
3. Intense extraction projects of oil and natural gas.
4. Population growth.
5. The inclining rate of private and commercial vehicle sales.
6. The generous subsidy policy, that is focused on energy products.

Through this sub-chapter, different consumption data will be presented, using different sources, to get a holistic view as possible of the energy consumption situation in the country.

Table.4: Egypt’s Primary Energy Consumption since 1965

Year	1965	1975	1985	1995	2000	2005	2010	2015	2016	2017
Rate	7.8	10.5	28	37.3	48.4	60.5	78.4	84.4	88.2	91.6

Table.5: Egypt’s Primary Energy Consumption by Fuel 2016-2017 

	Oil	Natural Gas	Coal	Nuclear	Hydro-Electric	Renewable	Total
2016	42	42.4	.2	-	3	.6	88.2
2017	39.7	48.1	.2	-	3	.6	91.6

Table.6: Egypt’s Final Consumption of Different Energy Sources during the 2000s

	2000	2005	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Coal	453	203	204	188	188	200	211	224
Oil	17898	20156	27009	22573	26333	35213	36086	37028
Natural Gas	4274	9182	12719	18202	19505	20956	21446	21960
Electricity	5559	7918	12060	12324	12306	12668	13134	13630

Table.7: Egypt’s Industrial Consumption of Different Energy Sources during the 2000s

	2000	2005	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Oil	5461	5548	3716	3279	3133	6369	6713	7080
Natural Gas	2072	5567	6649	6789	8002	9083	9303	9536
Electricity	2111	2812	3430	3500	3288	369	3488	3612
Coal	453	203	204	188	188	200	211	224

Table.8: Egypt’s Transport Consumption of Different Energy Sources during the 2000s

	2000	2005	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Oil	9060	9371	15547	12362	16416	16892	17098	17312
Electricity	-	-	44	44	45	46	46	47

Fig.6: A Pie-Chart of the Egyptian Primary Energy Consumption in the Year 2016 (EIA, 2018)

Import and Export

Egypt is a net exporter of crude oil and natural gas, however, the combination of increasing consumption and declining production has led to a decline in natural gas exports since 2009, as the government started to divert natural gas supplies from exports, in order to satisfy domestic demand, eventually turning the country into a natural gas importer since 2015. 

In terms of coal and peat, Egypt is a net importer, and coal imports are even expected to increase in the short-medium term, since the Egyptian government has approved the industrial use of coal in April 2014, and in the same year signed a construction deal for the first coal-fired power in the country.

Subsidies

In 2013, the Egyptian government spent 120 billion Egyptian pounds (about 13.8 billion EUR) on fuel subsidies, which equals 7% of the GDP. These costs in combination with economic stagnation have contributed to the increasing deficit, which reached about 12% of GDP in 2013. In order to alleviate this burden, the Egyptian government announced spending cuts on energy subsidies in June 2014. The Financial Times reported that these subsidies are going to be cut by almost a third.