Egypt raises natural gas purchase price in Western Sahara

The Egyptian government has approved raising the natural gas purchase price that produced from Western Sahara concession areas by Tunisian oil company HBS and China’s North Petroleum International (NPIC), according to a government official on Wednesday.

The government raised the price of supplying gas by 13 percent to $3 million per million thermal units, while Egypt aims to increase its oil production by 11 percent in 2023.

The raise came as part of Egypt’s plan to become a regional energy hub through the liquidation and re-export of gas. The country’s current production totals between 6.5 and 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The official added that HBS would inject new investment of about $70 million to develop its concession area in southwest Alamein to produce 30 million cubic feet of gas per day.

HBS participates in the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation via South Dhaba Petroleum, and currently produces 3,500 barrels of oil and 20 million cubic feet of gas per day.

It is worth mentioning that the Western Sahara represents 18 percent of the country’s natural gas production, while the Nile Delta represents 19 percent of production, and the Mediterranean region comes in with the largest share of 63 percent.