Posted on 03/28/2013 4:21:46 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
DURBAN, March 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have discussed the possibility of the deliveries of Russian natural gas to Egypt as the North African country may soon become an importer to revive its weakened economy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
The presidents met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa.
“Morsi expressed interest in the deliveries of Russian gas,” Lavrov told reporters in Durban.
Egypt is facing the possibility to become importer of natural gas for the first time in its history as domestic production fails to keep pace with demand growth in the aftermath of the January 2011 revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak and months of civil unrest that followed.
Egyptian Oil Minister Osama Kamal said last November that industry would be allowed to import gas in the second half of 2013. Factories will be permitted to import a maximum of 1 billion cubic feet a day, he said.
I’m guessing that the unmentioned issue here is the Egyptian petroleum industry losing the talent pool provided by western oil companies and contractors. They bugged-out when the Arab Spring hit the fan.
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