Egypt’s natural gas imports rose sharply to $2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2025, a significant increase from $1.3 billion in the previous quarter, according to an informed government source who spoke to Al Manassa.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the rise was largely driven by increased LNG volumes during peak summer demand, supported by recently signed contracts for regasification vessels stationed at Ain Sokhna. This marked a $1.6 billion quarter-on-quarter increase, and a nearly 50% year-on-year jump from Q3 2024, when imports reached around $1.3 billion.
“The regasification ships enabled the country to receive LNG cargoes, delivering approximately two billion cubic feet of gas per day,” the source said. “Roughly 80% was channeled to conventional power plants, while the rest went to industrial facilities.”
Imports are expected to drop to $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting the seasonal decline in gas demand during winter months—a 37% decline from Q3.
The source added that LNG prices currently range between $12–$14 per million British Thermal Unit/BTU, with transport and shipping costs contributing to the high overall value of imports.
To offset summer shortages, the Ministry of Petroleum deployed four floating storage and regasification units/FSRUs, boosting daily import capacity to 2.7 billion cubic feet, explained the official.
Officials are also working with international producers to scale up domestic output in the 2025/26 fiscal year, with the goal of phasing out reliance on rented regasification assets.
“Current production hovers around 4.2 billion cubic feet per day,” the source said, “which covers about 65% of Egypt’s demand. The rest is fulfilled through external contracts.”
Egypt began depending on Israeli gas imports in 2020. Local production started to decline in 2023, eventually falling below the daily consumption rate of six billion cubic feet. The gap triggered rolling blackouts and power shortages in 2024 and 2025, prompting the state to ramp up LNG purchases to stabilize supply for electricity generation and heavy industries.
