Egypt targets 120 cargoes in 2017, grabs 11 for June

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding company (EGAS) could import up to 120 cargoes of liquefied natural gas in 2017. 

The state that turned from a net exporter to a net importer over the course of last year, due to increased domestic consumption and falling production, has secured 11 cargoes earlier in June, Reuters reports, citing trade sources.

Out of the 11 cargoes, 10 will be delivered by the commodity trading house Trafigura with the remaining cargo to be delivered by PetroChina.

Egypt has deployed two FSRUs in Ain Sokhna that serve as the country’s import terminals, and is looking to charter a third FSRU by the second quarter of next year to up its import capacity up to 2 billion cubic feet per day, the country’s oil minister Tarek El Molla recently said.

The Höegh Gallant FSRU, provided by Höegh LNG, began operations in April last year, while the FSRU BW Singapore, provided by BW, has been in full operation since October 2015.

In addition to around 1.1 billion cubic feet per day LNG imports currently, Egypt is looking to increase its domestic gas production by 2019 up to between 5.5 and 6 billion cubic feet per day. The Zohr gas field discovered by Eni could bring 4.6 billion cubic feet of gas online on its own by 2019.

LNG World News Staff