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Egypt Eyes Gas Production Increase

Egypt plans to increase natural gas production from several key concession areas, including its giant Zohr field, in 2025. (Getty Images)
Egypt plans to increase natural gas production from several key concession areas, including its giant Zohr field, in 2025. (Getty Images)
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Egypt Eyes Gas Production Increase

Egypt plans to increase natural gas production from several key concession areas, including its giant Zohr field, in 2025. (Getty Images)
Egypt plans to increase natural gas production from several key concession areas, including its giant Zohr field, in 2025. (Getty Images)

Egypt plans to increase natural gas production from several key concession areas, including its giant Zohr field, in 2025, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said on Monday.

The government aims to ramp up output at Zohr by drilling new wells starting in the first quarter of 2025, according to a ministry statement. Production from the field remained stable at around 2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in the fiscal year 2023-24, which ended in June.

Zohr, once a game-changer that turned Egypt from a net gas importer to an exporter, peaked at 3.2 bcf/d in 2019 but has since seen output decline to 1.9 bcf/d in early 2024.

The drop was mainly due to foreign oil companies’ hesitance to invest as Egypt accumulated billions in arrears. However, in August, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that his government had a clear plan to restore and increase production levels in cooperation with foreign partners.

Egypt is also seeking to boost pipeline imports from neighboring Israel and Cyprus while exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) through its two export facilities.

Additionally, Egypt signed a partnership agreement on Monday with Greece's Copelouzos Group to enhance the trade, transport, supply, and regasification of natural gas across Eastern Europe and Greece.

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Saudi Trade Surplus Grows to $5.5 Billion in October 2024

The Kingdom's total international trade volume reached SAR164.7 billion ($43.8 billion) in October. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Kingdom's total international trade volume reached SAR164.7 billion ($43.8 billion) in October. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Trade Surplus Grows to $5.5 Billion in October 2024

The Kingdom's total international trade volume reached SAR164.7 billion ($43.8 billion) in October. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Kingdom's total international trade volume reached SAR164.7 billion ($43.8 billion) in October. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia’s trade balance recorded a 30% monthly growth, achieving a surplus of SAR20.7 billion ($5.5 billion) in October 2024, according to the Kingdom’s recently released global trade bulletin.

This marks an increase of over SAR4 billion ($1.06 billion) from SAR15.9 billion ($4.2 billion) in the previous month of September.

The Kingdom's total international trade volume reached SAR164.7 billion ($43.8 billion) in October, reflecting a 2% growth, amounting to SAR2.5 billion ($690.1 million) compared to nearly SAR162.2 billion ($43.1 billion) in September.

Merchandise exports contributed around SAR92.7 billion ($24.7 billion) to the total trade volume, while imports accounted for nearly SAR72 billion ($19.2 billion).
Non-oil exports in October totaled approximately SAR19.4 billion ($5.1 billion), representing 21% of total exports.

Meanwhile, oil exports amounted to around SAR67.3 billion ($17.9 billion), constituting 72.6% of total exports, and re-exports totaled nearly SAR5.9 billion ($1.5 billion), making up 6.4%.

In a related development, Asian countries, excluding Arab and Islamic nations, remained the top destination for Saudi merchandise exports, accounting for 52.2% of the total, valued at SAR48.4 billion ($12.9 billion).

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries ranked second with 13.1% of the total, with SAR12.1 billion ($3.2 billion), followed by the European Union with 13%, amounting to SAR12 billion ($3.2 billion).
By individual country, China was the leading destination for Saudi exports in October 2024, representing 16.1% of total exports, amounting to SAR14.9 billion ($3.9 billion).

India ranked second with SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion), representing 9.5%, and Japan placed third with SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion), representing 9.4%.
Non-oil exports, including re-exports, passed through 33 customs ports via sea, land, and air routes, with a total initial value of SAR25.3 billion ($6.7 billion).

Notably, King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail recorded the highest value among all transportation ports, handling SAR3.7 billion ($1 billion), or 15% of the total.