Egypt’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) declined dramatically in January as the country is gearing towards halting the imports due to increase in domestic gas production.
The country’s LNG imports in January dropped 66% year-on-year, pursuing the downward trend registered in the fourth quarter last year when they declined 40 percent as production from new fields ramp up, according to the France-based international association for gas, Cedigaz.
The Cedigaz infographic shows that only Qatar and Norway supplied LNG to Egypt in January.
Egypt that has turned a net importer over the course of 2016, due to falling production, has deployed two FSRUs in Ain Sokhna that serve as the country’s import terminals.
The Höegh Gallant FSRU, provided by Höegh LNG, began operations in April 2015, while the FSRU BW Singapore, provided by BW, has been in full operation since October the same year.
However, the rising production at newly discovered gas fields has pushed the country towards halting LNG imports sooner than it was initially anticipated.
One of the fields that has recently started production is the giant Eni-operated Zohr gas field in the Shorouk Block, offshore Egypt approximately 190 km north of Port Said.
It is the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea, and will be able to satisfy a part of Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades to come, according to Italian energy giant Eni.
