Egypt to wean itself off LNG imports by 30% in September: official

Egypt will cut down its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 30 percent starting from next September, an official in the state-run Egypt Natural Gas Holding (EGAS) told Reuters Arabic on Tuesday.

“We plan to import 10 shipments per month during June and July and to cut them down to seven per month during September and to five once Zohr field starts production.” the official added.

Egypt was a net exporter of LNG until 2014, when declining output and power shortages resulting from political upheaval forced the country to divert fuel for its own use and turned the most populous Arab nation into a net importer. Zohr, which Eni discovered in 2015 the biggest find in the Mediterranean Sea, has an estimated reserve of about 850 billion cubic meters of natural gas in place. The government expects the deposit to help ease Egypt’s energy shortage and allow it to resume exports.