Egypt continues to scramble to meet its gas demand and seeks higher purchases of LNG in the next three years than previously planned, sources with knowledge of the matter have told Bloomberg.
Egypt turned from a net LNG exporter to a net LNG importer at the end of 2024 as the country imported last year the highest number of LNG cargoes in years as it looked to ease the strain on its grid and industry amid energy shortages that led to rolling blackouts last summer.
The biggest gas discovery in the Mediterranean, Zohr, helped Egypt become a net LNG exporter in the late 2010s.
However, plummeting domestic onshore gas production, rising demand for power generation, and more intense heat waves have combined in recent years to lift Egyptian demand for imported LNG.
Earlier this year, state firm Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) signed a 10-year agreement with Hoegh Evi to have it deploy a floating LNG import unit near Alexandria on the Mediterranean at the end of 2026.
EGAS has also secured as many as 290 LNG cargoes over the next two and a half years with major energy firms and traders, including Saudi Aramco, Shell, and Trafigura.
Now it appears that Egypt will need even more LNG by 2028, according to Bloomberg’s sources, which could tighten the global LNG market where Europe and Asia are competing for supply.
In a bid to revitalize domestic production, Egypt has just launched a new oil and gas bid round and is inviting international companies to bid for 13 offshore and onshore blocks in a licensing round as it aims to boost domestic oil and gas production.
Companies are invited to bid on six new exploration areas and seven undeveloped discoveries. The undeveloped discoveries are in the Mediterranean, while the six exploration areas include three offshore exploration blocks in the Gulf of Suez and three onshore exploration areas in Egypt’s Western Desert.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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