Egypt’s imports of LNG are about to start in March with the arrival of the first cargo, an official at Egypt’s Ministry of petroleum said.
The country has been busy confirming LNG supply deals recently securing shipments from Sonatrach, Trafigura, Noble Energy and Vitol, but Hamdy Abdel Aziz, head of the Petroleum Ministry’s media department did not name the supplier of the first shipment to the Höegh LNG’s FSRU Höegh Gallant.
As Abdel Aziz told Bloomberg, Egypt plans to halt LNG imports by 2020, but further imports might be possible together with further gas fields development and exploration projects.The country signed 56 contracts since 2013 awarding licenses for further exploration.
Resumption of imports after 2020 will depend on the demands of the domestic market and need for energy mix diversification.
Egypt is also looking at the possibility of chartering a second floating regasification terminal as imports of the liquefied natural gas increase.
LNG World News Staff; Image: Höegh LNG