Egypt will allow foreign companies to “freely” export natural gas not needed for domestic use in five years, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla announced on Monday during Al Ahram’s energy conference, according to Reuters. New exploration contracts contains a clause that allows companies to export a part of their share of extracted gas abroad in the event it is not needed by Egypt, El Molla told a news conference. The move, which comes as part of Egypt’s strategy to become a regional hub for exporting gas next year, comes after the Zohr gas field began production on Saturday, raising Egypt’s production to 5.5 bcf/d by next year.
