The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Engineer Abdullah Ghorab, said his ministry is considering supplying Jordan with Egyptian gas after a request from his Jordanian counterpart. However, he said increasing the amounts is much more important for the needs of the Egyptian market as of now. Ghorab denied reports on TV that claim Egypt would stop exporting gas to Israel and Gaza. He pointed out the Palestinian government did not ask Egypt to provide them with gas. Ghorab told Youm7 in a special statement diesel fuel was available in gas stations and there is no reason for concern of the citizens. The Ministry of Petroleum is not facing any problems, either financially or with the production process. Egypt produces 75 percent of its own diesel fuel, with all refineries working at full capacity. Ghorab said the amount of diesel fuel available are sufficient but the problem lies in new consumption patterns due a significant increase in consumption of diesel fuel by farmers who operate big machinery during the harvest season. Ghorab said the amount of diesel fuel dispensed increased by 10 percent today. He has been following up with the crisis since it began with the Minister of Social Solidarity, Dr. Gouda Abdel Khalek, to identify the main reason behind the crisis. Petroleum products are available by the General Authority for Petroleum and there is a constant continuation of production and absence of any obstacles facing the Authority in import operations. Ghorab confirmed he is cooperating with the Ministry of Finance to allocate money to import petrol products. The ministry already received U.S. $300 million and said there were several fuel tanks arriving with diesel supplies. Bakeries received all they need regarding diesel fuel and butane for up to 10 days and suggested that anyone facing problems in obtaining fuel should call the ministry's complaints hotline. Ghorab denied the shortage of butane and denied the decrease of rations to suppliers. He added shortages only occur on Fridays when factory workers only work one shift. Ghorab said the shortage of butane is due primarily to the manipulation of distribution. The crisis exists within the Egyptian market because of illegal distribution of extra butane to factories and brick kilns, which makes it difficult for citizens to obtain butane cylinders. The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) recently increased the amount of diesel fuel available in the market to 4 percent then further increased it to 6 percent to meet any additional demand, especially for the harvest season in agricultural areas. Gas stations have recently been crowded by owners of transport vehicles, citizens and by farmers for the purchase of diesel fuel. The crowding led to an increase of consumption of diesel fuel, which caused scuffles and fights between drivers. To avoid over-crowding and fighting, the Ministry of Petroleum is increasing the supply of diesel fuel by 10 percent and creating a hotline for complaints.
