Egypt to import $3.55bn worth of LNG by 2016

Egypt will import around $3.55 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the 2015-2016 financial year, an official at state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) said.

Egypt moved closer to easing its chronic power shortages this month with the arrival of a floating import terminal marking the start of imports of super-cooled LNG.

Egypt has exported LNG in the past, but the new terminal will allow the country to begin imports.

“The cost of the LNG that will be imported during 2015-2016 will be around $3.55 billion,” an EGPC official said. The Egyptian financial year starts in July.

The EGAS state gas board has agreed to import 35 LNG cargoes from Russia’s Gazprom over five years.

This year and next it has agreed to take 33 cargoes from Trafigura, 9 from Vitol, 7 from Noble and 6 from Algeria’s Sonatrach.

Energy is politically sensitive in Egypt, where dissatisfaction with persistent power cuts has sparked protests that have helped topple two leaders in four years.

Rising consumption and falling production has turned the country from an energy exporter to a net importer.