The Natural Gas Regulatory Authority set on Thursday the fee that private sector players will have to pay to use the state’s national grid to transport gas at USD 0.38 / MMBtu, according to its official website. The rate applies for the first year of the program, suggesting a revision could be in the works after the initial trial period. License fees will be calculated based on the amount of gas transferred and can be settled in EGP. The regulator will be issuing permits for different types of commercial gas market activities, including grid operations and maintenance, supply, distribution, and shipping, with different fees set for each type as follows:
- USD 0.57/MMBtu for transmission licenses;
- USD 0.31/MMBtu for shipping licenses;
- USD 0.23/MMBtu for distribution licenses;
- USD 0.08/MMBtu for supply licenses.
Background: The Oil Ministry had said last month that the regulator was given the green light to begin issuing and revoking licenses for private players in the natural gas industry, a move that was made possible by the deregulation of the sector through the Natural Gas Act.
No word yet on import licenses: There’s no word yet on when the first import license will be issued, but sources had previously said to expect the first before the end of 2018.We had heard last year that EGAS gave BB Energy, Fleet Energy, and Qalaa Holdings’ TAQA Arabia preliminary approval on natural gas import licenses, which still need to be ratified by the new regulator. Alaa Arafa’s Dolphinus Holdings, which signed a USD 15 bn natural gas import agreement with Israel earlier this year, is also expected to be among the first to receive an import permit.
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