Egypt has gone from net exporter of gas, to net importer and back again within the span of seven years. This reversal of fortune has been thanks to the sanctioning since 2016 of 25tcf of gas developments, in large part due to swift policy change at the oil ministry. The consensus amongst oil firm executives is that this has mostly been the work of one man, the oil minister, Tarek El Molla.

“With the last liquefied natural gas shipments to Egypt last week, we announce a halt on gas imports,” Mr Molla said on 29 September, echoing President Sisi’s remarks at the UN General Assembly in New York just four days earlier, that Egypt would see a gas surplus in April next year. (CONTINUED - 1865 WORDS)