Egypt Started LNG Procurement to Avoid Summer Supply Crunch

Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company recently purchased at least one LNG shipment for May delivery and is looking procure more LNG shipments through summer, traders told Bloomberg.

• The cargo is likely to be rerouted through an existing facility in Jordan, traders said, after the FSRU BW Singapore left Egypt’s Ain Sukhna import terminal in November after a charter deal ended.
• Last June, Egypt signed a deal with Jordan to jointly use an existing floating LNG import facility in Aqaba, in case of emergency.
• Sources told Bloomberg last month, Egypt is looking to import LNG cargoes as early as April through the summer to avoid fuel shortages during extreme heat.
• Egypt largely stopped importing LNG in 2018 with the commissioning of the Zohr gas field. The country has imported just four cargoes since 2019, ship-tracking data show.
• Energy Minister Tarek el-Molla said in October that exports would continue until March or April before using the fuel domestically during the summer. No cargoes have been shipped out of Egypt since 11 March, ship tracking data showed.