Egypt is bucking the global trend of reduced oil and gas spending, an upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie tells The FT’s Heba Saleh, “because the gas price for newer contracts is relatively high and you are insulated because there is a price floor and a ready market. EGAS [the state gas company] is willing to negotiate the price to encourage investment.” Even with the accelerated development of Zohr, Egypt is not expected to return to being a gas exporter straight away as domestic consumption has been increasing, partly driven by land reclamation and the inevitability of expanding desalination projects. Still, future plans to transform Egypt into a gas exporting hub are “viable,” analysts tell Saleh, with former EGAS Chairman Mohamed Shoeib adding that Egypt “represents an exit for gas from Cyprus and Israel” and that the plan is achievable within five years.