Egypt's Energy Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges

Gawdat Bahgat, a professor in the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, Washington, takes a look at the energy outlook in Egypt. With more than 80 million people, Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East and the Arab world. Egypt, in partnership with international companies, has undertaken significant exploration and established itself as a major regional natural gas producer and exporter. Egypt enjoys tremendous potential in renewable energy resources from solar irradiation in the vast western desert, wind resources along the Gulf of Suez, and hydropower from the Nile River. Working with international partners and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Cairo has developed human and technological nuclear infrastructure. On the demand side, excessive energy consumption has to be addressed. Articulating and implementing the right energy strategy will contribute to Egypt's long-term political and economic stability.