Egypt’s Cabinet on 14 August approved a raft of measures that it hopes will reduce power and by extension gas consumption. These include capping aircon in public buildings at 25°C, dimming street lighting and shutting off power supply to government buildings at the end of the working day. The aim is to free-up more gas for export as LNG which is currently achieving near-record prices on international markets.

With Egypt’s foreign reserves slumping to a five-year low of $33.1bn at end-July (MEES, 12 August), PM Mostafa Madbouly says the aim of maxing LNG exports is to bring in much-needed foreign currency to the cash-strapped country’s coffers. (CONTINUED - 870 WORDS)