Good afternoon, folks. With the Paris Olympics set to officially come to a close this evening and to soon no longer compete for our attention, we’ve got some important local energy news updates and a reminder that AI may not be the economic miracle many had promised.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

A new USD 600 mn gas treatment facility in the Western Desert should be up and running by mid-2025: The Oil Ministry plans to complete the construction of a USD 600 mn natural gas treatment plant in the Western Desert’s Meleiha concession and have it operational by mid-2025, an unnamed government source told Al Arabiya. The facility will be operated by Agiba — a JV between Eni’s subsidiary IEOC and the state’s Egyptian Petroleum General Corporation.

The details: State-owned Petroject is acting as the project’s main contractor, working together with global oilfield services giant Schlumberger on engineering, design, and procurement for the treatment plant. The source said construction on the project could wrap up in 1Q 2025, followed by a pilot run, and expected the facility to be fully operational by mid-2025.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

With international business news at a low ebb this morning, much of the international press is still processing the fallout of an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City that killed over 90 on Saturday morning, as people were gathering for Fajr prayers. Israel justified the strike by arguing that the compound — home to around 350 displaced families — was a legitimate military target due to the presence of “militants.” The attack comes as Egypt, Qatar, and the US push Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations on 15 August, and amid concerns of further escalation between Iran and Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

More international condemnations, more hypocrisy: US and other regional and international officials quickly condemned the strike, calling the attack and its aftermath “appalling.” Yet the US’ posturing fell flat as reports broke that the country had decided to release USD 3.5 bn to Israel to buy US-made weapons the day before — part of a USD 14 bn foreign military assistance package to Israel approved in April.

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

  • Annual inflation eased for the fifth consecutive month in July: Annual urban inflation cooled to 25.7% in July, down 1.8 percentage points from 27.5% in June.
  • A lot of Emirati investments incoming: A series of meetings between government officials and Emirati government and business figures yielded several new joint projects that are set to inject a whole lot of funds into our industrial sector.
  • A message of reassurance from Madbouly: The hot money outflows last week triggered by the global markets meltdown represented no more than 7-8% of foreign investors’ holdings of Egyptian debt instruments.

enterprise

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We take a look at how the industrial sector is coping with rising production costs.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Mercury is peaking at a high of 37°C before simmering to a moderate low of 27°C by nightfall, according to our favorite app. Sahel and Alexandria are seeing cooler weather, with a high of 31-33°C and a low of 25-26°C

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