Egypt’s gas, power supplies unaffected by Damietta incident – PM

Egypt’s energy and natural gas supplies have not been affected by this week’s vessel incident at Damietta Port as the government activated contingency plans, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Thursday.

Madbouly said the vessel involved in the incident formed part of Egypt’s natural gas supply network, which provides fuel to power plants, adding that the government had already put alternative supply arrangements in place to ensure uninterrupted energy deliveries.

He said authorities immediately activated contingency plans by increasing the use of fuel oil and diesel at power stations while assessing the impact of the incident, preventing any disruption to electricity generation and natural gas supplies.

“The contingency plans worked exactly as intended, and there has been no impact on electricity generation or natural gas supplies,” Madbouly said.

He said Egypt’s energy system continued to operate normally despite record summer electricity demand, adding that the country had sufficient alternative resources to maintain stable supplies.

Madbouly said the government was coordinating closely with Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawy and Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mahmoud Esmat to implement contingency measures until normal operations are fully restored.

He added that the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) were also involved in coordinating the financial and logistical requirements needed to support the emergency response.

The comments came after a fire aboard two vessels at Damietta Port took place on 29 July. Egyptian authorities said preliminary investigations had found that a drone caused the incident, while the investigation remains ongoing and no group has claimed responsibility.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English