Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced the export of a new shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this January to Shell, from the Idku LNG Terminal.
The shipment, totaling approximately 150,000 cubic meters, was transported aboard the tanker “Methane Bekki Anne” to a Turkish port.
This export is part of Egypt’s plan to export several LNG shipments, fulfilling its commitments to foreign investment partners. This aims to incentivize them to invest further, increasing domestic production and adding value to the national economy.
It also maximizes the utilization of Egyptian liquefaction plant capacity, reinforcing Egypt’s role as a regional gas trading hub.
A source at the Ministry of Petroleum revealed that the government has reached an agreement to export approximately 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas to European markets, for the benefit of Shell and Petronas
The source explained that Egypt had already begun exporting LNG on behalf of Shell Global since October, with the LNG carrier New Nature departing from Idku LNG Terminal bound for Italy, carrying approximately 155,000 cubic meters of LNG.
This preceded the signing of new agreements this month to supply gas to Syria and Lebanon.
The source added that the estimated value of the latest deal ranges between US$40-45 million, payable entirely to the foreign partners as part of settling a portion of outstanding payments accumulated over several years. In return, the Egyptian government will receive the partners’ shares of the locally produced gas.
He indicated that the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) will begin pumping the agreed-upon quantities of gas to Idku complex within a week, in preparation for its liquefaction and export to Europe as an LNG shipment.
Final export date to be determined
The source added that the final export date will be determined in coordination between the government and the two companies in the coming days.
He noted that EGAS continues to secure additional LNG shipments for export, taking advantage of the surplus resulting from reduced consumption by conventional power plants during the winter, which ranges between 600 and 700 million cubic feet per day.
He added that EGAS intends to hold a meeting with foreign companies operating in natural gas exploration and production in Egypt before the end of this month to discuss setting the latest available export date.
This is in line with the company’s aim to meet domestic market needs well before the summer season, thus contributing to reducing LNG imports during the summer of 2026.
Natural gas imports on the rise
Data showed that the value of Egypt’s LNG imports rose to approximately $7.2 billion during the first ten months of last year, compared to about $3.85 billion during the same period in 2024.
This represents an 87 percent increase, driven by a doubling of the number of imported shipments, which reached approximately 18 shipments per month at the peak of the summer season, compared to only 5 to 7 shipments during the summer of 2024.
Regarding export volumes, Egypt’s natural gas exports reached approximately 238 million cubic meters in November, compared to 236 million cubic meters in October, according to data from The Joint Organizations Data Initiative.
LNG exports in November amounted to approximately 215 million cubic meters, while pipeline gas exports reached approximately 23 million cubic meters.
