The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum has announced the conversion of approximately 17,000 vehicles from gasoline to bi-fuel (CNG and gasoline) operation from July to October. This initiative is part of the ninth phase of an ongoing project to convert 150,000 vehicles to run on natural gas, which was started by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in early 2021.
The conversion process involves the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) signing two contracts worth EGP 200 million with Egyptian International Gas Technology (GASTEC) and CARGAS, affiliates of the Ministry of Petroleum.
According to Bassel Rahmy, CEO of MSMEDA, the Egyptian government has already converted 103,000 cars to CNG, at a cost of EGP 715 million. Between July 2022 and the end of March 2023, 61 natural gas fueling stations were built, bringing the total in the country to 688. Additionally, 221 stations are projected to open in the near future, with a total of 1,000 planned.
The increase in Egyptian gas production in recent years has encouraged the government to pursue fuel conversion. Furthermore, Egypt expects to produce about eight million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023 after the discovery of a new gas field in the Narges area of the Eastern Mediterranean in January.
Source: AltFuels Communications Group