Briefs

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Exception to the rule

IN AN ATTEMPT to boost investment and to contain the negative impact of a recession in the making, a presidential decree issued early this week stipulated custom reductions and tariff exemptions on a number of capital goods, intermediate commodities and industrial outputs.

The commodities are classified into categories and estimated at some 250 imported items that have no local equivalent and are not generally manufactured in Egypt. Custom exemptions apply to capital goods including a large variety of equipment and tools used in carpentry, printing, textiles, chemicals and engineering industries.

Tariff reductions are imposed on energy-efficient products, and environment-friendly commodities including paint materials, among other items.

The move came in response to earnest pleas made earlier by local manufacturers and the Egyptian Federation of Industries seeking to lift pressure off local producers who are experiencing a growing recession.

"While many countries have started to adopt protectionst policies, Egypt is perhaps the only country to impose tarrif reductions in an attempt to facilitate access to market, and induce investment," said Mustafa El-Halwagi, Chairman of the Industrial Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce.

According to Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali the current reductions and tariff exemptions will cost the government coffer LE1 billion, that will be borne by the state in a bid to revitalise the market and assist local manufacturers who were hit the hardest by the current financial situation.

On his part, counsellor to the Ministry for Customs Affairs Galal Abul-Fetouh indicated that the decree will also include typical commodities that have reached the Egyptian harbours and have not been released yet.

Planned vs spontaneous

NATURAL gas has started to flow for the first time at the Theqa region, at Arish concession area on the Mediterranean, operated by Tharwa Petroleum Co. Daily production is estimated at 95 million cubic feet and will be pumped to the treatment station at Gameel region in Port Fouad, before it is finally transmitted to the national gas grid. A three dimensional seismic survey of Arish offshore concession area of 1,300 kilometres was conducted in 2007. In the following few months, two offshore platforms were manufactured and constructed, and marine pipelines stretched to put the field on production in a short time.

In the meantime, oil spilled spontaneously from three wells situated in Gabal Al-Zeit at Gemsha region, north of Hurghada. Two of these wells are onshore while the third is

The gas saga

EGYPTIAN gas exports to Israel will be resumed, according to a Higher Administrative Court verdict passed on Monday. This week's court ruling ignored two verdicts issued earlier in November and later in January by the Administrative Judiciary Court at the Council of State that ordered a freeze on Egyptian gas exports to Israel on 18 November. The ruling was reaffirmed on 6 January on the basis that the decision to export gas to Israel was unsound, given the fact that the parliament, which has the authority to decide on natural gas sales, was not consulted.

Meanwhile, the Higher Administrative Court further referred the government's challenge to the original ruling to a panel of legal experts for a review of the whole case. The next session is set for 16 March.

Monday's ruling came as a blow to lawyers and activists who first filed the case against the Egyptian government for selling gas to Israel at marginal prices that are hardly comparable to international prices. They have often referred to the case as an irrational and uncensored depletion of Egypt's natural resources.

Egyptian gas started to flow into Israel in May 2008 under a long- term agreement signed in 2005 to export some 1.7 billion cubic metres of gas to Israel annually over the next 15 years.