• A gas filing station / Reuters image
Egypt has raised natural gas prices for several energy-intensive industries starting in May, according to a prime ministerial decree published on Sunday.
Reuters reported that the government has already raised domestic fuel prices by up to 17% in March in response to soaring global energy costs, and is seeking to reduce fuel and electricity subsidies under an $8 billion programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund.
The decree raised the price of gas by an average of $2, reaching $14 per million British thermal units for cement factories, $7.75 for iron and steel, non-nitrogen fertilisers and petrochemicals, and between $6.50 and $6.75 for other industrial activities and petrochemical plants producing ethane and propane mixtures.
The increases do not apply to consumers, whose gas supply contracts already include pricing formulas, the decree said.
Egypt’s energy import bill has more than doubled, while monthly natural gas import costs have nearly tripled since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, with increased reliance on LNG imports or regional producers.
