Egypt's natural gas imports drop to zero from 800 mcfd - cabinet

The Egyptian government has increased the duration of electricity cuts as a result of a rise in consumption amid rising temperatures that coincided with the falling gas imports, a cabinet spokesman said on Sunday.

Power generated from renewable energy has also declined, he added.

Earlier this month, Chevron shut down the Israeli Tamar gas field amid the Israel-Hamas conflict and suspended exports through the subsea EMG pipeline running from Ashkelon in southern Israel to Egypt.

Egypt relies on Israeli gas imports to meet some of its domestic demand, as well as for re-exports.

Egypt, where there is growing demand for gas from the population of 105 million, has also seen its own gas production decline to a three-year low this year. The country has grappled with power shortages in the summer as heatwaves have driven up demand for cooling. (Reporting by Momen Saeed Atallah and Sarah El Safty; Editing by Alexander Smith and Hugh Lawson)