Egypt raises natural gas prices for factories amid energy price volatility
Natural gas prices in Egypt have increased
Written by: Ziad Abdel Fattah
Egypt has raised natural gas prices for a number of energy-intensive industries starting this May, according to an official decision issued by the Prime Minister and published on Sunday.
Egypt adjusts fuel prices in response to rising global energy costs
The government has already raised Fuel prices Domestic production rose by as much as 17% in March, in response to rising global energy costs, and is seeking to reduce fuel and electricity subsidies under an $8 billion program agreed with the International Monetary Fund.
The decree raised the price of gas by $2, to $14 per million British thermal units for cement plants, $7.75 for iron, steel, non-nitrogen fertilizers and petrochemicals, and between $6.50 and $6.75 for other industrial activities and petrochemical plants that produce ethane and propane mixtures.
The increases do not apply to household consumption.
The decision clarified that the increases do not apply to consumers whose gas supply contracts already include pricing formulas.
According to Reuters, Egypt’s energy import bill has more than doubled, while monthly natural gas import costs have nearly tripled since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran, with increased reliance on liquefied natural gas imports or regional producers.
Amid the shock and volatility of oil markets, which many countries around the world are experiencing as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras announced on Saturday that it had raised the price of natural gas sold to distributors by 19.2% effective May 1. This is the latest in a series of energy price increases related to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Petrobras updates natural gas prices quarterly, with adjustments related to Brent crude prices, foreign exchange rates, and other criteria, following a price adjustment last February, before the outbreak of the war.
The matter did not stop at natural gas prices, as the Brazilian company raised jet fuel prices by 18% this week, after a previous increase of 55%.
Meanwhile, the OPEC+ alliance is heading for a modest increase in oil production on Sunday, an increase that remains largely symbolic, given the ongoing US-Iran trade war that continues to disrupt oil supplies from the Gulf.
