Egypt’s natgas regulator to begin issuing licenses to private sector - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Natgas regulator to begin issuing licenses to private sector: The Natural Gas Regulatory Authority will reportedly begin issuing this month private sector gas import and distribution licenses, almost a year after it said it’s open for requests, a source from the Oil Ministry said, according to Al Shorouk. 

Licenses will come at a cost of EGP 50k alongside an EGP 500k deposit. News came after the regulator, which was made responsible last year licensing under the Natural Gas Act, postponed its first issuance in September, saying the private sector was “unprepared.” 

The authority is handling requests from at least 14 companies, including Rosneft. It also set fees last year for the private sector’s use of the state’s natgas grid.

Natural Gas Regulatory Authority postpones issuance of natgas import licenses - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 12 September 2018

The Natural Gas Regulatory Authority has postponed the issuance of natural gas import licenses to private sector companies, saying the private sector is “unprepared,”according to an EGAS source. EGAS has renewed preliminary approval to grant Qalaa Holdings’ TAQA Arabia, BB Energy and Fleet Energy the import licenses, effectively giving them additional time after all three allegedly failed to submit paperwork to obtain the final license, according to the source. The preliminary approvals, which are renewed every six months unless a permanent license is obtained, must be ratified by the authority.

Take this with a grain of salt: When all three companies fail to file paperwork on time, that’s not the private sector being “unprepared,” it’s the business sending a message to government about license terms — and the regulator putting on some pressure in public. We suspect we’re not the only ones who hear echoes here of round one in the solar energy feed-in-tariff imbroglio.

Background: The authority was given the green light in July 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. Sources had said at the time that the first import license would likely be issued before the end of 2018.

EGAS renews initial approvals for BB energy, Taqa, Energy Fleet for gas importation - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

10 September 2018

Mohamed Adel

EGAS has renewed the approvals for the companies BB, Taqa and Fleet Energy on the licenses for natural or liquefied gas importation to provide it within the local market, after the licenses expired and the companies did not submit the required data to obtain the licenses.

A source at EGAS told Daily News Egypt that the three companies that obtained the initial approvals for the licenses have not submitted the data related to the importation body and the supplied amounts, as well as the client, with which there is a contract to obtain gas in the local market.

He explained that the initial approval on the import licenses is renewed every six months, and the companies applying to import gas have not taken any real steps to obtain the final licenses.

The private sector companies that obtained initial approvals are Energy Fleet, headed by Essam Kafafy, located in Panama, in addition to BB Energy, owned by a Lebanese Family, located in London. In addition, Taqa Arabia, owned by several funding gulf companies, in cooperation with Egyptian Qalaa Company.