BG Group threatens to close Egypt fields

The country’s government, led by army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi after last year’s coup to depose Mohammed Morsi, is diverting virtually all the natural gas produced from BG’s offshore fields to keep the lights on at home.

There have been no shipments from BG’s liquefied natural-gas terminal at Idku during the first quarter as a result. The reservoir of gas from Egyptian fields is also dwindling, leaving production down by 35% between January and March.

The damage is such that Egypt has shrunk from a fifth to a 10th of overall production.