CAIRO - Egypt's petroleum ministry announced on Wednesday a series of agreements settling all claims between Egypt, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Union Fenosa Gas and the Spanish Egyptian Gas Company (SEGAS), ensuring resumption of production at the Damietta liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.

The plant, which is 50% owned by Eni, reopened last month after a long closure, a key step in Egypt's plans to promote itself as an energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean.  

State-owned EGAS and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) took control of the remaining 50% in the deal to restart the plant, which had been shut since 2012 amid legal disputes.

Egypt's petroleum ministry said the settlements announced on Wednesday would also increase EGAS's liquefaction capacity at the plant, without saying by how much.

Damietta is one of two liquefaction plants on Egypt's northern coast, along with Idku.

Egypt began importing Israeli gas last year for re-export from the LNG plants to Europe and Asia.

(Reporting by Ahmed Ismail Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Aidan Lewis, editing by Louise Heavens) ((Nafisa.Eltahir@thomsonreuters.com;))