Pipeline attack adds to Egyptian gas woes

CAIRO, May 20 (UPI) -- Egyptian media said Tuesday militants in the Sinai Peninsula bombed a natural gas pipeline in a regional industrial zone, though no injuries were reported.

Ahram Online reported unknown assailants blew up the pipeline that supplies regional industries in the city of Arish. The blast was described as powerful, though no other details were provided.

Militants in the restive peninsula have targeted the region's gas infrastructure repeatedly since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The latest attack follows a push by the Egyptian government to address a lingering gas shortage. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum expects domestic gas production will increase 1.7 percent this year, though consumption is expected to increase by 12.5 percent.

More than a dozen new natural gas wells are expected to be tied into the national grid this year in an effort to increased gas production.

A country report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, published in July, says Egypt may be forced to import natural gas for the first time in recent history to cope with rising demand.