Egypt president warns of ‘escalation’ after port strike

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned on Thursday that the Middle East conflict was facing a serious escalation, after a drone struck a US-owned gas tanker in an Egyptian port.

According to his spokesman, during a call to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, al-Sisi “stressed the need for Egypt, Spain, Europe and the international community to work together to halt this escalation.”

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday that Egypt has secured alternative sources to cover its energy demands after a drone attack on Wednesday caused damage to a gas vessel at Damietta port.

Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said that Egypt has four Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU), along with a fifth vessel docked in Jordan’s Aqaba port that the two countries share.

Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat said that Egypt’s electricity demand has been at a peak level at 37-39 GW over the past 15 days, adding that the government has enough stocks of different fuel alternatives, including over 425,000 metric tons of fuel oil at power plants alone, as well as more in strategic storage.

No party has claimed responsibility for the attack and authorities are continuing their investigations, he added.