Islam Times – Egypt has secured a key natural gas supply agreement with Qatar as it confronts mounting energy pressures, signing a memorandum of understanding on Sunday to expand liquefied natural gas (LNG) cooperation.Announced by Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum, the deal provides a framework for QatarEnergy to deliver up to 24 LNG cargoes to Egyptian terminals at Ain Sokhna and Damietta during the summer, when electricity demand typically spikes due to heavy air conditioning use.
The agreement reflects the depth of Egypt’s energy crisis. Domestic natural gas production has declined sharply since late 2022, eroding Cairo’s earlier ambitions to act as a regional energy hub.
Output stood at 3,635 million cubic meters in October, down from 3,851 million cubic meters in the same month of 2024, according to Joint Organisations Data Initiative figures.
Falling production has forced Egypt to rely on costly imports, including pipeline gas from “Israel,” spot LNG purchases, and now expanded Qatari supplies, to meet the needs of a population exceeding 100 million.
Egypt’s worsening energy imbalance has deepened its structural dependence on “Israeli” gas, increasing the entity’s economic and political leverage over Cairo.
Under a long-term agreement approved in December 2025, “Israel” is set to supply around 130 billion cubic meters of gas to Egypt through 2040.
The deal, one of the largest in the entity’s history, is expected to generate about $18 billion in revenue, even as “Israel” continues its genocide in Gaza.
Between 2021 and 2024, Egypt’s gas output fell by more than 30%, driven by technical problems at the Zohr field, aging infrastructure, and rapidly rising domestic demand.