Egypt's petroleum minister: a man with a plan

Tarek el-Molla believes his country will be a major oil hub, and self-sufficient in natural gas

THE EGYPTIAN energy sector’s fall from promise to penury was swift. Just twelve years ago, two liquefied natural gas plants were about to come on stream – the Segas facility in Damietta and Egyptian LNG’s plant in Idku – each underpinned by several years of consistent, industry-leading success in the upstream that also brought plans for gasification of the local economy. But exploration dwindled, the discoveries ended, and the plants ran out of gas. Saboteurs killed off piped exports from Egypt to the Levant through Sinai. All the while, the energy needs of the Arab world’s most populous country soared, spurred by subsidised prices that drain the country’s budget. The 2011 revolution and the