Egypt has reportedly signed contracts to purchase additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) from global energy companies to meet peak summer electricity demand and falling domestic production.
The deals were signed with state-owned Saudi Aramco, Singapore’s Trafigura Group and Switzerland’s Vitol Group, Bloomberg news agency reported, citing informed sources.
The state-run Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company has also reached agreements with US-based Hartree Partners, Dubai-headquartered BGN, the UK’s Shell and Azerbaijan’s Socar, the report said.
The arrangements cover the delivery of at least 125 LNG cargoes per year for up to two years.
In February, Reuters reported that Egypt signed deals worth $3 billion with Shell and France’s TotalEnergies to import 60 cargoes of LNG for 2025.
These contracts aim to reduce Egypt’s exposure to price swings in spot markets.
While the country was a net LNG exporter until last year, consultancy Energy Aspects forecasts a 22.5 percent decline in domestic production by 2028.
Power demand is slated to grow by 39 percent over the next decade.
The country’s energy bill during summer from July is likely to rise to $3 billion a month, up from $2 billion last year, Bloomberg reported.
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