Egyptian demand for diesel and fuel oil is at record levels as the country struggles to keep the lights on amid dwindling domestic gas output, MEES analysis indicates.

Egypt has been wracked by power cuts in recent months as dwindling domestic gas production clashes head-on with peak summer demand. Egypt relied on gas-fired plants to meet 70% of power demand for the year ending June 2013. But domestic gas output which was already falling has since gone in to freefall. Gas output is running at 4.8bn cfd, a precipitous fall from 5.6bn cfd in the first part of 2013 and around 6bn cfd a year before that. (CONTINUED - 679 WORDS)