Egypt to Ration Power Consumption at Places of Worship

A picture taken on July 17, 2018, shows the Muhammad Ali mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in the Egyptian capital. (Getty Images)
A picture taken on July 17, 2018, shows the Muhammad Ali mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in the Egyptian capital. (Getty Images)
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Egypt to Ration Power Consumption at Places of Worship

A picture taken on July 17, 2018, shows the Muhammad Ali mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in the Egyptian capital. (Getty Images)
A picture taken on July 17, 2018, shows the Muhammad Ali mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in the Egyptian capital. (Getty Images)

The Egyptian government intends to implement the current fiscal year's plan to regulate the use of places of worship, to save around EGP100 million annually.

Minister of Local Development General Mahmoud Shaarawy said the ministry plans on installing 40,000 prepaid counters at the mosques and churches. The move saves approximately EGP100 million worth of energy consumed in lighting mosques and churches.

According to the minister, a total of 25,000 counters have been installed so far, helping save EGP60 million during the current fiscal year.

Shaarawy further added that up to 68,999 water-saving devices were set up at 35,000 mosques and 7,000 churches.

This step is in light of the signed protocol between the ministry and the Holding Company for Water and Waste Water (HCWW) to set up drinking water coded counters.

The minister called on the executive bodies in the provinces to appoint an individual tasked with the regular maintenance of the water-saving devices in addition to another person to be in charge of expanding the installation process.

He explained that these devices reduce water consumption by 50 percent.



Oil Prices Reset as Supply Uncertainty Reigns

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Prices Reset as Supply Uncertainty Reigns

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil lost early gains on Tuesday and prices were back near their previous close in the face of uncertainty over how supply will be affected by Ukraine-Russia peace talks, international trade tariffs and OPEC+ crude output.

Brent crude futures were up only 1 cent at $75.23 per barrel by 1242 GMT, retreating from $76.07 earlier in the session.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 51 cents from Friday's close to $71.25 a barrel. There was no settlement for WTI on Monday because of the US Presidents' Day holiday, Reuters reported.

"Each rally seems to find willing sellers, whether or not it is because of neighbouring technical numbers that keep movement trapped or notions of a war settlement topped with tariffs is hard to tell," said John Evans of oil broker PVM.

"Day trading and short-term flows are ruling the fate of oil prices at present."

US and Russian officials held more than four hours of talks in Riyadh on Tuesday, their first on ending the war in Ukraine. But Moscow made a new demand: that NATO cancel its 2008 promise on Ukraine membership.

Ukraine was not at the talks and has said that no peace deals can be made on its behalf.

If a deal is reached, Washington and its allies could abandon sanctions throttling the supply of Russian oil to the world.

Oil prices were bolstered on Tuesday by a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian pipeline that pumps about 1% of global crude supply.

The damage could reduce oil transit volumes from Kazakhstan by about 30% and take up to two months to repair, Russian oil transport company Transneft said.

Another question hanging over oil markets is whether OPEC+ is considering a delay to monthly supply increases scheduled in April.

Russian state media said the group's members were not looking to hold off from the increases after Bloomberg News reported that OPEC+ members were exploring a possible delay.