Egypt will reduce its offer price for natural gas to iron and steel and iron producers to $4.5 per one million thermal units from $7, as stated in a report by Reuters.
Tarek Kabil, the Egyptian minister of industry and foreign trade, stated that high gas prices have led to factories operating at only 20 percent of their production capacity and that the new reduced price will only be offered to those that operate at full capacity.
According to Reuters, Egypt's falling oil and gas production coupled with rising consumption have forced the country, which was once an energy exporter, to divert supplies to the domestic market. It is now a net energy importer.