Cairo, Egypt– Egypt is looking to resume exports of liquefied natural gas exports by October, according to the country’s petroleum minister Tarek El Molla.
The North African country’s production is used at home during the summer when temperatures are very high, but in the winter months the country has excess quantities of gas available for export.
The minister added that summer exports surged last year because the government switched from using natural gas in power stations to mazut fuel oil in order to bank on the higher natural gas prices.
El Molla said: “We exported more gas because we relied more on fuel oil which last year was cheaper than natural gas so I’d import mazut and export natural gas. Today it’s the opposite.”
The minister said earlier this month that Egypt had not exported any LNG in June because of seasonal factors, adding that a shipment was expected in July.
Egypt, the most populous Arab country, has sought to position itself as a regional energy hub, strategically located to supply its own gas and re-exported Israeli gas as LNG to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Last year, it signed a framework deal with the European Union and Israel to expand gas exports, as Europe sought alternatives to Russian gas because of Russian forces invading Ukraine in February 2022.
Some trading sources have told media they believed the lack of shipments in June was a result of declining domestic production.
