Abed Ezz El-Regal, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), said that the country's production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased by 31,000 tonnes within the first four months of this year to reach about 626,000 tonnes. This hike in butane production came as a result of the development of a number of production units in the local refineries. Ezz El-Regal told Daily News Egypt that consumption of LPG slightly declined in various sectors to reach about 1.44m tonnes from January to April 2018, down by 60,000-100,000 tonnes compared to the same period in 2017. It came in line with the government's initiative to rationalise energy consumption. He pointed out that the oil sector constantly exports a number of shipments of LPG to bridge the gap between production and domestic consumption. Egypt's LPG exports recorded 887,000 tonnes during the first four months of the year, compared to about 940,000 tonnes in the same period in 2017—a decline of more than 40,000 tonnes. The Ministry of Petroleum aims to raise its total daily production of crude oil and condensates during the first months of the next fiscal year to 36m tonnes, equivalent to 705,000 barrels, to support the refining industry and reduce imports. The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) seeks to expand in supplying homes with natural gas as part of the government's strategy to ease the burden on subsidised butane gas.
