Egypt cuts LNG imports amid reduced power plant demand

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Egypt has scaled back its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports at the Ain Sokhna regasification terminal, east of Cairo, by about a third to around 500 million cubic feet per day, an unnamed official source told Asharq Business.

The reduction follows a dip in natural gas consumption of power plants, the official said.

Currently, Egyptian power plants consume approximately 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily, down from around 4.2 billion cubic feet during peak summer months.

Mazut consumption at plants has also fallen sharply from nearly 30,000 tons daily in recent months to around 1,000 tons.

In addition to LNG shipments, Egypt imports approximately 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily through the Jordan Gas Pipeline, supplied from both Jordan’s Aqaba terminal and Israeli gas fields.

Egypt began importing LNG in April to prevent potential power outages as domestic natural gas production faced challenges.

In response, the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) procured numerous spot LNG shipments for immediate use at Jordan’s Aqaba regasification facility, then transported the gas by pipeline to Egypt.

To address these challenges, the Egyptian government resumed payments of dues to foreign oil and gas partners as per an agreed-upon schedule.