There is no doubt that Egypt's economic security has become directly bound up with Israel in recent years, especially when it comes to energy security, and meeting Egypt's natural gas needs.
It is also beyond doubt that this dependency is extremely dangerous, not just in the mid-to-long term, but also in the short term. This is because such a level of energy reliance on Israel doesn't just have economic, financial, and industrial ramifications for Egypt, but has far-reaching political and social implications too, as well as very possibly risking Egypt's overall national security.
In February 2018, when the Egyptian government first ratified a massive $15 billion deal to import natural gas from Israel, this was increased in the following years to over $21 billion. It was justified on the basis that the arrangement would enable Egypt to transform into a regional hub for energy export, and the gas from Israel would not be for domestic consumption but would be re-exported.
In other words, Egypt cast itself as no more than an intermediary - importing gas from fields seized by Israel in the eastern Mediterranean off the coasts of Egypt, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. This gas would then be liquified in Egypt, either in the Damietta or Edco plants, ready for re-export.
Bolstering that justification at the time was Egypt's recent discovery of the "supergiant" Zohr gas field, ranked the largest natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptian government asserted this meant the Zohr field would supply enough gas to cover domestic consumption for many years, with the surplus exported to international markets thirsty for energy - like Europe.
However, time has proven this claim wholly inaccurate, and that the Israeli gas didn't come to plug Egypt's export gap, as was repeated at the time. Instead, it has been pumping – since 2020 – into the homes, restaurants, shops, and factories of Egyptians.
Israel's gas is now a vital source for supplying power plants in Egypt. The government has even called on Israel to increase its gas exports to Egypt more than once when the country has faced widespread power outages, as it did last summer, amidst a stark decline in local gas production.
Looking at the most recent statistics, the volume of Israeli gas imports by the Egyptian government has jumped massively; in 2024, Egypt’s imports of Israeli gas rose by 18.54% - or 1.59 billion cubic metres – its highest ever level.
It must also be highlighted that this major hike occurred at the peak of Israel's unprecedented assault on the Gaza Strip that started in October 2023.
In numbers, Egypt imported around 10.16 billion cubic metres during 2024, which rose from 8.57 cubic metres in 2023. Last December saw the highest rate of Egyptian government imports of Israeli gas in 2024. Moreover, a few months before, reports had surfaced about an agreement between Cairo and Tel Aviv to increase imports by 21% starting in October, with the aim to meet growing local demand.
But it doesn't end there – the Egyptian government has plans to further increase the country's dependency on Israeli gas in the coming period. There are ongoing negotiations with this aim in mind, by which the government seeks an agreement with Israel to increase gas imports by around 58% from their current level of 950 million cubic feet per day, starting in the second half of 2025.
The authorities responsible call this "securing the fuel requirements of the Egyptian state during the summer months". They claim these measures are being taken to guard against predicted electricity shortages and meet any increase in demand for gas by electricity generation companies and energy-intensive factories like those manufacturing iron, fertiliser, aluminium and automobiles.
However, there are many questions to be posed here. First of all - is the Egyptian state being forced to import ever increasing amounts of Israeli gas, stolen in the first place from Arab gas fields? And is this happening despite the risks, and in spite of Israel's occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor (adjacent to Egypt's border with Gaza), which violates the Camp David peace agreement between Israel and Egypt?
Additionally, why is there such a focus on gas from Israel in particular to meet Egypt's energy needs - despite the serious dangers to Egypt's economic and social security posed by placing the country in such a position of dependence?
Moreover, why has over $21 billion of Egyptian state revenue flowed out of the country (remember - this is a state suffering a mammoth financing gap and desperate for foreign exchange) to be deposited in Israel's treasury, coincidentally as Israel suffers a major deficit due to the costs of the war?
Furthermore, why is this being done while we are fully aware that this huge amount is being sent to bolster Israel's continued prosperity and to purchase the weaponry being used to massacre the Palestinian people? And why this rapidly increasing level of economic normalisation with the occupation state happening right now in particular?
Beyond that, where are the dozens of Egyptian gas fields which were discovered to great fanfare and supposedly put into production in recent years? What happened to all the talk about self-sufficiency in gas, so enthusiastically promoted in 2018 and the years that followed?
Lastly, if there really is an urgent need to import gas from abroad, why not import it from friendly Arab countries, like Algeria, Qatar, and the Sultanate of Oman, or even non-Arab countries with close relations to Egypt, like Russia?
Mustafa Abdul Salam is an Egyptian journalist and heads the economics section of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, °®Âþµº's Arabic-language sister edition.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click
Translated by Rose Chacko
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