Egypt is planning to regasify liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the Port of Aqaba and pipe it back to the domestic grid, a move aimed at offsetting a total cutoff of Israeli gas following a massive regional escalation.
A ministry source told Al Manassa that the Petroleum Ministry plans to process three LNG cargoes through the Energos Force—a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) stationed in Jordan—and transport the fuel via the Arab Gas Pipeline. The workaround comes as Cairo races to secure alternatives after Israel invoked force majeure to suspend exports on Saturday, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The move is part of a broader scramble to secure fuel for electricity generation and industry as the disruption ripples through Egypt’s energy system, with officials also seeking additional LNG cargoes and boosting regasification capacity in case Israeli flows remain halted.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the three cargoes will total about 450,000 cubic meters of LNG, equivalent to roughly 9.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and will be received from US and European companies this month.
He estimated the value of the three cargoes at about $150 million, saying they will be used to cover part of local demand for industry and electricity. Egypt will coordinate with Jordan on regasification procedures and how the volumes will be split between the two countries.
The source said the cargoes are insulated from the price shock triggered by the war because the ministry agreed to import them last year at $12 per million British thermal units, plus $2 in transport and regasification costs, for a total of $14. That compares with roughly $7 per million British thermal units for pipeline gas supplied to the domestic market.
Separately, a source at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said the company contacted a number of global gas suppliers to accelerate additional LNG deliveries starting this month to compensate for the halt in Israeli gas supplies after Iranian strikes hit facilities in Tel Aviv.
The EGAS source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said March supply deals originally called for importing just five cargoes, but the current direction is to add 10 to 15 more, lifting imported volumes by about 200%. He estimated the increase would cost the petroleum sector an additional $750 million to $1 billion in a single month.
The ministry source said Egypt has also instructed the three regasification ships it leases, stationed at Ain Sokhna and Damietta, to raise operating capacity from typical winter levels of 40% to 45% to more than 90%, as a contingency if Israeli flows remain disrupted.
In a longer-term push to expand and reposition supply options, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi met Monday evening with Chevron’s Cyprus director Basil Allam to follow up on a project to connect Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field to Egyptian infrastructure, a step toward re-exporting the gas via Egypt to external markets.
Badawi said the project is important for strengthening Egypt’s role as a regional hub for gas trading, maximizing the use of its infrastructure, and supporting better exploitation of gas resources in ways that help achieve energy security.
The government’s push to build gas stocks comes days after the ministry agreed with global LNG suppliers to cut imports by 37% in February, citing lower domestic consumption and higher production, according to a source familiar with the ministry’s gas-import file who spoke to Al Manassa earlier.
