Egypt did not import any liquefied natural gas in 2019

Egypt did not import any liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2019, compared to $1.1 billion in LNG imports in 2018,according to  the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS

The statement said that Egypt’s total exports reached $4.9 billion in 2019 compared to $4.6 billion in 2018, a 4.54 percent increase.

Exports of LNG increased to $1.2 billion compared to $497 million in 2018, a 148.7 percent increase, the statement said.

Egypt stopped importing LNG in September 2018 after major discoveries of gas fields in Egyptian territory in recent years, including the giant offshore gas field Zohr in the Mediterranean, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The statement added that Egypt imported crude oil worth $2.9 billion in 2019 compared to $3.5 billion in 2018, whereas $1.05 billion worth of butane gas was imported in 2019 compared to $1.3 billion in 2018.

In recent years, the Egyptian government has been working to capitalise on the recent discoveries of gas fields to turn the country into a regional energy hub.

In January 2020, Egypt began to import liquefied gas from Israel’s offshore gas field Leviathan for re-export