Good afternoon folks, and happy Thursday. We are bracing ourselves for a scorching long weekend.

EnterprisePM Egypt will be off on June 30, but we will be back in your inbox at the usual time on Monday.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The energy crisis continues to dominate the news today, as Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (Sidpec) has started receiving feed gasses and gradually resumes operations in its factories, the company said in an EGX disclosure today (pdf). It is now expected that major petrochemicals and fertilizer companies will follow suit in the coming hours.

Remember: An Oil Ministry official told Enterprise on Tuesday that gas supplies to the industry should be back to normal by the end of this week, as high temperatures are expected to soon start cooling.

Signs of the times: Abu Qir Fertilizers board has signed off on a project to partially adopt hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas, the company said in a disclosure today without providing further details (pdf). The company’s board also approved a plan to install new solar plants with a total capacity of 2.5MW to reduce the company’s electricity consumption.

ICYMI: The nation’s power crisis has forced major petrochemicals and fertilizers to halt operations completely over the past two days. Sidpec, Abu Qir Fertilizers, Mopco, and Kima have cited the lack of feed gasses as a reason to power down their factories.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The French parliamentary elections are leading the conversation in the foreign press this afternoon. Recent polls suggest a hung-parliament scenario led by the far-right Rassemblement National party, whose leader Jordan Bardella has pledged a “cultural battle against Islamism” if they secure the victory. The elections will be held in two rounds on 30 June and 7 July. (Financial Times | CNBC)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • It’s not just natural gas and mazut that Egypt wants to import: Four state-owned firms are set to launch a company alongside Triangle Group’s Gama Construction in a project to import liquified ethane gas derived from US shale gas.
  • Some industries are getting harder than others from rolling blackouts: Factories in the steel, livestock, food production, petrochemicals, and fertilizers industries are facing operational disruptions due to ongoing power cuts and gas shortages that are squeezing companies’ bottom lines.
  • Befar gets serious about Egypt: The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) inked a framework agreement with Chinese chemicals manufacturer Befar Group to set up an integrated chemicals production complex dubbed Green Marine in China’s special economic zone TEDA.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Look for a high of 41°C and low of 23°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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