Egypt's imports of natural gas have fallen to zero from 800 million cubic feet per day, increasing the frequency of power outages, the cabinet said Sunday in a statement.
The statement added that the government increased the period of power outages as a result of higher consumption coinciding with the decline in gas imports. Electricity generated from renewable energy has also declined, he said.
Chevron this month shut down Israel's Tamar gas field as the aggression on the Gaza Strip began, and suspended exports via the East Mediterranean Gas Pipeline (EMG) under the sea that runs from Ashkelon in southern Israel to Egypt.
After the Tamar gas field was shut down, Israeli energy industry sources said two weeks ago that the amount of gas exported from Israel's Leviathan field to Egypt had shrunk with supplies prioritized for the domestic market, which appeared to have stopped.
Egypt relies on Israeli gas imports to meet part of domestic demand, as well as for re-exports.
On Oct. 19, analysts said a tanker seeking to load liquefied natural gas from an Egyptian terminal left empty and switched to another in Algeria after an Israeli pipeline carrying gas to Egypt was halted due to worsening aggression on Gaza.
Egypt's demand for gas is increasing, while its gas production has fallen to a three-year low this year. Egypt faces energy shortages in the summer, as heat waves have increased demand for cooling.
Egypt has not exported any liquefied natural gas (LNG) since July, amid rising domestic demand this summer, and exports were due to resume this month.
Egypt imports about 7 billion cubic feet a year of natural gas from Israel's Tamar and Leviathan gas fields, according to data from consulting firm Rystad Energy.
The company said in a note that Egypt exported 3.7 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas from October 2022 to January 2023.
For the 23rd consecutive day, the Israeli army continues to launch intensive raids on Gaza, killing more than 8,20 Palestinians, mostly children and women, in addition to injuring more than 1870,<> others and leaving <>,<> missing under the rubble, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.