Energy in Egypt

This article describes the energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Egypt.

Overview

Energy in Egypt[1]
Capita Prim. energy Production Export Electricity CO2-emission
Million TWh TWh TWh TWh Mt
2004 72.64 662 752 71 88 141
2007 75.47 782 957 153 111 169
2008 81.51 822 1,018 180 116 174
2009 83.00 837 1,026 174 123 175
2012 82.54 138 188
Change 2004-09 14.3% 27% 36% 145% 40% 25%
Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Prim. energy includes energy losses

Electrical power

Egypt is classified as having a “high power system size (24,700 MW installed generation capacity in 2010 with more than 40 grid-connected plants).” As of 2010, 99% of the Egyptian population has access to electricity.[2]

History

When electricity was first introduced in Egypt in 1893, the generation and distribution of electricity was practiced exclusively by private companies. In 1962, the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity were nationalized under three authorities (the Electricity Production Authority, the Electricity Distribution Authority, and the Electricity Projects Implementation Authority) leaving the government as the sole owner and operator of all electrical companies.[3][4] These three authorities were replaced in 1965 by the public Egyptian Corporation for Electricity which remained active until 1976 when it was converted into the Egypt Electricity Authority as decreed by electricity sector Law no. 12.[4][5] In 1978 the Egypt Electricity Authority supervised the establishment of seven geographically divided electricity distribution companies.[3][4] An additional electrical power distribution authority was established in 1983 as a means of supervising distribution companies which had become independent of the Egypt Electricity Authority.[3]

Between 1996 and 2000 a series of laws and presidential decrees were passed to reorganize and regulate the growing electrical industry.

Between 2000 and 2001, the EEHC implemented a division in the organization of Egypt’s electrical management framework. Generation (production) activity was separated from distribution activity along with the separation of control and transmission between ultra-high-voltage and high-voltage networks.[4] This division rearranged the industry to consist of 13 companies: one company for electricity transmission, one company for hydroelectric power production, four companies for thermal power production, and seven companies for electricity distribution. In 2002 the Delta Company for electricity distribution divided into North Delta and South Delta increasing the number of companies to 14. In 2004 the Cairo company for electricity distribution divided into North Cairo and South Cairo in addition to the Delta company for electricity production dividing into three companies: East Delta, Middle Delta and West Delta.[3]

Currently there are 16 companies affiliated with the EEHC that make up the Egyptian electric utility system:[7]

Regional coordination

A US$239 million electricity network link with Jordan was completed in 1998. In late 2002 Egypt announced that it would coordinate a regional energy distribution center to coordinate energy distribution among the nations of the region, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

System issues

Since the early 2000s, power outage rates and durations as well as distribution system losses have trended downwards indicating that distribution companies have improved their overall customer service quality over the past decade; however, Egypt has seen a great weakening in its supply security. The power system’s generation reserve capacity declined from 20% in the early 2000s to 10% by the 2010s. The Egyptian power system is now significantly less able to avoid power shortages during annual peak demand periods, which are typically the afternoons on the hottest days of the year.[2]

The weakening of Egypt’s supply security has caused widespread social issues in the 2010s. To deal with the extremely high demand for electricity, rolling blackouts and power cuts were implemented throughout the summer of 2012 causing great tension between the government and the people of Egypt. Angry residents from many villages protested the rolling blackouts by threatening to not pay their electricity bills and to sue their electricity provider. A campaign entitled “We Will Not Pay” was organized to encourage people to not pay their bills until the electrical service was stable once again. Residents from the Bardeen village in Zagazig also protested the unstable supply of electricity by blocking the Belbeis-Zagazig road. The government released statements encouraging people to ration their electricity consumption and announced that work was being done to generate an additional 1800 MW of energy. Minister of Petroleum Abdullah Ghorab reiterated the importance of conserving electricity to avoid a state implemented policy of load shedding.[8]

Crude oil

Oil refining in Alexandria

Egypt is an important non-OPEC energy producer. It has the sixth largest proved oil reserves in Africa. Over half of these reserves are offshore reserves. Although Egypt is not a member of OPEC, it is a member of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.[9]

Commercial quantities of oil were first found in 1908, and more petroleum was found in the late 1930s along the Gulf of Suez. Later, large oil fields were discovered in the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Suez, the Western Desert, and the Eastern Desert. The Abu Rudeis and Ra's Sudr oil fields in the Sinai, captured by Israel in 1967, were returned to Egyptian control in November 1975, and the remaining Sinai oil fields reverted to Egyptian control by the end of April 1982. As of 2005, Egypt's proven oil reserves were estimated at 3.7 billion barrels (590×10^6 m3), of which 2.9 billion barrels (460×10^6 m3) was crude oil and 0.8 billion barrels (130×10^6 m3) were natural gas liquids.[9] Oil production in 2005 was 696,000 barrels per day (110,700 m3/d), (down from 922,000 barrels per day (146,600 m3/d) in 1996), of which crude oil accounted for 554,000 barrels per day (88,100 m3/d).[9]

Approximately 50% of Egypt's oil production comes from the Gulf of Suez, with the Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and the Sinai Peninsula as country's three other primary producing areas. Domestic consumption was estimated at 564,000 barrels per day (89,700 m3/d) in 2004. Net oil exports in that same year were estimated at 134,000 barrels per day (21,300 m3/d). The Suez Canal and the 322-kilometre (200 mi) Sumed pipeline from the Gulf of Suez to the Mediterranean Sea are two routes for oil from the Persian Gulf, which makes Egypt a strategic point of interest in world energy markets. Although the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has deepened the canal so that it can accommodate the largest bulk freight carriers, the canal was deepened a further 20 metres (66 ft) in 2006 to accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs).

As of 2005, Egypt operates nine refineries that are capable of processing crude oil at an estimated rate of 726,250 barrels per day (115,465 m3/d). The largest refinery is the El-Nasr facility located at Suez. It is able to process 146,300 barrels per day (23,260 m3/d). The National oil company is the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

Consumption of Crude oil has exceeded production in recent years

Natural gas

Major discoveries in the 1990s have given natural gas increasing importance as an energy source. As of 2005, the country's reserves of natural gas are estimated at 66 trillion cubic feet (1.9×10^12 m3), which are the third largest in Africa.[10] Probable reserves have been placed at or more than 120 trillion cubic feet (3.4×10^12 m3). Since the early 1990s, significant deposits of natural gas have been found in the Western Desert, in the Nile Delta and offshore from the Nile Delta. Domestic consumption of natural gas has also risen as a result of thermal power plants converting from oil to natural gas. Egypt's production of natural gas was estimated at 2,000 billion cubic feet (57×10^9 m3) in 2013, of which almost 1,900 billion cubic feet (54×10^9 m3) was domestically consumed.[11]

Natural gas is exported by the Arab Gas Pipeline to the Middle East and in the future potentially to Europe. When completed, it will have a total length of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi).[12] Natural gas is exported also as the liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is produced at LNG plants of Egyptian LNG and SEGAS LNG companies.[13] BG and Eni, the Italian oil and gas company, together with Gas Natural Fenosa of Spain, built major liquefied natural gas facilities in Egypt for the export market, but the plants have been largely idled as domestic gas consumption has soared.[14]

In March 2015, BP Signed a $12 Billion Deal to Develop Natural Gas in Egypt intended for sale in the domestic market starting in 2017.[14] BP said it would develop a large quantity of offshore gas, equivalent to about one-quarter of Egypt’s output, and bring it onshore to be consumed by customers. Gas from the project, called West Nile Delta, is expected to begin flowing in 2017. BP said that additional exploration might lead to a doubling of the amount of gas available.

In September 2015 Italian energy company Eni SpA announced the discovery of the largest gas field in the Mediterranean, the Zohr gas field. The total gas in place of the Zohr gas field is estimated around 30 trillion cubic feet (850×109m³).

Shale oil

The Safaga-Quseir area of the Eastern Desert is estimated to have reserves equivalent about 4.5 million barrels (720×10^3 m3) of in-place shale oil and the Abu Tartour area of the Western Desert is estimated to have about 1.2 million barrels (190×10^3 m3) of in-place shale oil. The 1000 to 2000 foot thick and organically rich, total organic content of about 4%, Khatatba Formation [15] in the Western Desert is the source rock for wells there and is a potential source for shale oil and shale gas.[16] Apache Corporation, using substantial assets acquired in 2010 from BP after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, is the major operator in the Western Desert,[17] often in joint ventures with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) such as Khalda Petroleum Company and Qarun Petroleum Company. In 1996 Apache merged with Phoenix Resources, which had made the Qarun discovery in 1994, and took over operations of the Qarun Concession in Egypt.[18] Apache has developed about 18% of the 10 million acres it controls, in 2012 running a score of rigs; drilling about 200 development and injection wells; and about 50 exploration wells with a success rate of about 55%. Plans for 2013 included an investment of about $1 billion in development and exploration.[19] On August 29, 2013 Apache announced sale of a 1/3 share of its Egyptian assets to Sinopec for $3.1 billion effective January 1, 2014; Apache would continue to be the operator.[20]

Oil shale

Oil shale resources were discovered in the Safaga-Quseir area of the Eastern Desert in the 1940s. The oil shale in the Red Sea area could be extracted by underground mining. In the Abu Tartour are, oil shale could be mined as byproduct whilst mining for phosphates. Oil shale in Egypt is foreseen as a potential fuel for the power generation.[21]

Nuclear power

Egypt has been considering the use of nuclear energy for decades: in 1964, a 150 MWe and in 1974 a 600 MWe, nuclear power stations were proposed. The Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) was established in 1976, and in 1983 the El Dabaa site on the Mediterranean coast was selected.[22] Egypt's nuclear plans, however, were shelved after the Chernobyl accident. In 2006, Egypt announced it would revive its civilian nuclear power programme, and build a 1,000 MW nuclear power station at El Dabaa. Its estimated cost at the time was US$1.5bn, and the plans were to do the construction with the help of foreign investors.[23] In March 2008, Egypt signed an agreement with Russia on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.[24] In 2015, contracts were signed with a Russian company to begin the building of the plant at El Dabaa.[25][26]

Renewable energy

The current energy strategy in Egypt (adopted by the Supreme Council of Energy in February 2008) is to increase renewable energy generation up to 20% of the total mix by 2020.[27]

Hydropower

Power plant of the Aswan High Dam, with the dam itself in the background.

The majority of Egypt’s electricity supply is generated from thermal and hydropower stations.[27] The four main hydroelectric generating stations currently operating in Egypt are the Aswan Low Dam, the Esna Dam, the Aswan High Dam, and the Naga Hamady Barrages. The Asyut Barrage hydropower plant is scheduled to be commissioned and added as a fifth station in 2016.[28]

Almost all hydroelectric generation in Egypt comes from the Aswan High Dam. The Aswan High Dam has a theoretical generating capacity of 2.1GW; however, the dam is rarely able to operate at full design capacity due to low water levels. An ongoing refurbishment program is being enacted to not only increase the generating capacity of the dam to 2.4GW, but also extend the operational life of the turbines by about 40 years.[27][29]

In 2011, Egypt produced 156.6 TWh gross, of which 12.9 TWh came from hydroelectric generation. The per capita consumption of electricity at the end of 2012 was 1910 kWh/yr, while Egypt’s hydropower potential in 2012 was about 3,664 MW.[22][27][29] As of 2009-2013, hydropower made up about 12% of Egypt’s total installed power generation capacity – a small decline from 2006-2007 when hydropower made up about 12.8%.[27][28][29] The percentage of hydropower energy is steadily declining due to all major hydropower sites having already been developed with a limited potential for further increase in generating capacity. Outside of the Aswan High Dam, the other hydropower sites are considered very modest and most new generation plants being built in Egypt are based on fossil fuels.[27][29]

Even with the addition of the Asyut Barrage hydropower plant in 2016, hydropower development in Egypt is still lagging as the existing and developed hydropower plants are no longer being constructed at a rate that can support the increasing electricity consumption in Egypt.[28] The population of Egypt has increased by 14.3% in the five year period from 2004 to 2009 (OECD/World Bank). Every six months there are 1 million more Egyptians. Energy production grew by 36% between 2004 and 2009.[30]


Solar

Egypt has a high solar availability. The total capacity of installed photovoltaic systems is about 4.5 MWp. They are used in remote areas for water pumping, desalination, rural clinics, telecommunications, rural village electrification, etc.[31] The proposed large scale solar power project Desertec involves also Egypt. Egypt has also a high potential for wind energy, especially in the Red Sea coast area. As of 2006, 230 MW of wind energy was installed, with additional 320 MW to be installed by 2009.[32]

The country in some areas receives over 4,000 hours of sunshine per year which is among the highest quantities registered in the world. Due to the sharp population growth and a series of blackouts during the summer caused by shortage supply, Egyptian demand of solar energy is increasing. However, only 1% of the electricity is produced by solar energy. The main part of the solar energy available in the country derives from small/scale projects. The only big projects, up to 10MW, are constituted by hybrid sola/diesel solutions which are developed by the Emirati company, Masdar.[33]

Wind

Wind farm at Zaafarana

In 2009, 430 MW of wind power were installed. Because the potential for hydroelectricity is largely utilized, the Supreme Council of Energy’s goal of increasing renewable energy to 20% by 2020 is expected to be reached predominantly through the development of wind power as solar remains too costly. Wind power is expected to reach 12% (a power capacity of about 7200 MW) of total electricity output with hydro (100 MW of CSP power) and solar (1 MW of PV power) making up the remaining 8%.[27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ IEA Key World Energy Statistics Statistics 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006 IEA October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15
  2. 1 2 Vagliasindi, Maria; Besant-Jones, John (March 28, 2013). Power Market Structure: Revisiting Policy Options (PDF). Washington, DC: The World Bank. pp. 161, 168.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Development of Electricity in Egypt". Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Electricity and Energy. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Electricity in Egypt". Egyptian Electric Utility And Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Electricity Legislation". Egyptian Electric Utility And Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Establishment Decree". Egyptian Electric Utility And Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Egyptian electricity holding company annual reports" (PDF). Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Electricity and Energy. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Al-Youm, Al-Masry. "Rolling blackouts policy sparks anger across Egypt". Egypt Independent. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 WEC, p.76
  10. ↑ WEC, p. 176
  11. ↑ "Egypt: international energy data and analysis". US Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Lebanon minister in Syria to discuss the Arab Gas Pipeline". Ya Libnan. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  13. ↑ "SEGAS Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Complex, Damietta, Egypt". Hydrocarbons Technology. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  14. 1 2
  15. ↑ Mohamed Abdel-Aziz Younes (March 16, 2012). Mohamed Abdel-Aziz Younes, ed. Crude Oil Exploration in the World (hardcover or pdf). InTech. pp. Chapter 2, "Hydrocarbon Potentials in the Northern Western Desert of Egypt". ISBN 978-953-51-0379-0. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources: An Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries Outside the United States" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). June 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  17. ↑ Matt Bradley (June 8, 2011). "Apache hopeful shale drilling takes off in Egypt Stories". Market Watch. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Our Egyptian Region". Apache Corporation. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Egypt Region Overview". Apache Corporation. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  20. ↑ Michael J. de la Merced (August 29, 2013). "Apache to Sell Stake in Egyptian Holdings to Sinopec for $3.1 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  21. ↑ WEC, p. 107
  22. 1 2 "Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Egypt unveils nuclear power plan". BBC News. 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  24. ↑ "Middle Eastern nations do nuclear diplomacy". World Nuclear News. 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
  25. ↑ Shay, Shaul (November 2015). "The Egypt – Russia nuclear deal" (PDF). Herzliya Conference. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  26. ↑ "VVER reactor and El-Dabaa". The Middle East Observer. The Middle East Observer. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Razavi, Hossein (2012). "Clean Energy Development in Egypt" (PDF). African Development Bank (AfDB) Group. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  28. 1 2 3 Gawdat, Bahgat (2013). "Egypt’s Energy Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges" (PDF). Mediterranean Quarterly. 24: 12–37. doi:10.1215/10474552-1895367. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Ibrahim, A (2012). "Renewable energy sources in the Egyptian electricity market: A review". Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. 16 (1): 216–230. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  30. ↑ IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006 IEA October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15
  31. ↑ WEC, pp.403–404
  32. ↑ WEC, pp.409–499
  33. ↑ "In Egypt, Regulatory Challenges Overshadow Solar Energy Potential". Fanack.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.

Citations

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