Egypt has reportedly launched a tender to buy 12 LNG cargoes for delivery in the first few months of 2018.
Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is said to be seeking to bring in nine of the cargoes via Egypt’s two FSRUs, reports Reuters.
However, Egypt’s requirements, which will also see three cargoes imported via a Jordanian terminal, reportedly undershot trader expectations.
The tender for deliveries between January and March was seen as a bearish signal for global gas markets as traders had expected Egypt to seek five cargoes per month, not four, said Reuters.
Egypt’s gas importer has been using two 170,000-cbm FSRUs — BW’s BW Singapore (built 2015) and Hoegh LNG’s Hoegh Gallant (built 2014), to import LNG since 2015. Both units are on five-year charters to EGAS.
Last month Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Terek El Molla said the country was on track to cease importing LNG by the end of 2018.
Egypt’s mega purchase tenders of the past several years turned the country into one of the world’s fastest-growing LNG importers.
Earlier this year Wood Mackenzie said Egypt’s gas market was poised to undergo profound changes in the next five years.
The UK-based consultancy said the Middle East nation was likely to emerge as a prominent seasonal player.
A number of major offshore gas developments are due to come on stream in the next few years, including BP’s West Nile Delta and Atoll fields and Eni’s Zohr find, which will add a cumulative 41bn-cbm a year to Egypt’s gas production by 2022.
