Informed media sources reported that Saudi Arabia and Libya have financed the purchase of gas shipments worth at least $200 million to help Egypt ease its energy crisis this summer.
“Without support from our friends in the Gulf, we will not be able to pay for these shipments,” the sources told Reuters, adding that “officials are looking to raise more funds from allies.”
According to the sources, Saudi Arabia has financed three of the 32 LNG shipments that Cairo has purchased so far this year, worth about $150 million at current prices.
Libya also bought one cargo in July worth about $50 million with money from the Libyan National Oil Corporation.
Egypt needs about $2 billion of gas to cover summer demand until October, according to one of the sources familiar with the government’s plan, but a hard currency crunch means it lacks the funds to fully cover LNG imports.
A spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum said that the details of the gas tender are confidential.
The Saudi government, the Saudi Central Bank and the Libyan National Energy Company did not comment on this news.
The Egyptian gas bill and financing from Saudi Arabia and Libya have not been previously reported.
Egypt had to resort to load shedding last year to keep its network running amid gas shortages and high demand.
Egypt’s domestic gas production fell to a six-year low in May, down about 25% from its 2021 peak, and is expected to fall another 22.5% through 2028, Energy Aspects, a consultancy, said.
The country had been planning to become a major gas exporter after Italian energy group Eni discovered the giant Zohr offshore field in 2015.
The Energy Ministry said at the time when Zohr began production in 2017 that the field would produce 2.7 billion cubic feet per day until 2039, but after peaking at 3.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2019, production has fallen to just 1.9 billion cubic feet per day in the first half of 2024.
Last update: September 3, 2024 – 22:22
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2024-09-04 20:12:33