On the 22nd of May 2017, the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs received Eng. Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, in order to discuss the recent developments in the energy sector in Egypt. El-Molla made sure to inform the members of the council of the strategy of the ministry which includes areas relating to the increase of productivity, secure the country’s needs from petroleum products, the implementation of the oil sector development and modernization project, the expansion in projects aiming to deliver natural gas to houses and factories, the expansion of the petrochemical industries to maximize the value added. He also clarified that his vision is implemented by short-term and long-term plans to achieve a comprehensive vision in the energy sector by 2035. This vision was elaborated with the coordination of the ministry of Petroleum and the rest of the ministries, mainly the ministry of electricity.
He also stressed on the fact that these projects are within the framework of the Egyptian Vision for Development 2030 that aims to increase the efficiency of the extracted gas and achieve the conformity of the Egyptian products to the requirements of the international standards, as well as bridging the financing gap and deficit by gradually removing subsidies and giving more attention to the value adding industries to meet the domestic demand and export the surplus. He said that it is important to realize that the actions of the ministry aim to transform Egypt into a regional energy center through redrawing borders of its territorial waters, like what has been done with the State of Cyprus, settling arbitration cases and signing memorandums of understanding with energy exporting countries.
