Egypt’s natural gas imports fell to zero from 23 million cubic metres (mcm) per day in October, leading to longer blackouts at a time when the cooler winter months were expected to reduce the pressure on the country’s power supply.
While the government did not explain any reasons for the sudden drop, it is widely believed that the Israel-Hamas war is to blame.
Since July this year, Egyptians have had to contend with power outages that last an average of one hour every day as the North African country’s gas and fuel supplies have failed to keep pace with rising consumption due to searing heat. At the time, the government said planned blackouts were a temporary measure, and that things would return to normal when temperature levels dropped and winter began to set in.
Earlier this month, US energy corporation Chevron shut down the Israeli Tamar gas field, suspending exports through
