Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry has agreed with global suppliers to cut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by 37% in February, after domestic consumption declined and production increased, a ministry source familiar with LNG imports told Al Manassa.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the ministry had expected average gas consumption this month to reach about 6.4 billion cubic feet per day, but it has slipped to between 6 and 6.2 billion cubic feet per day, and several new gas projects have started coming online, prompting it to scale back imports.
He said those developments led the ministry to cut imported LNG cargoes to five from eight, with each shipment carrying around 150,000 cubic meters, to be directed in sequence to regasification vessels in Ain Sokhna waters before being injected into the national natural gas grid.
LNG is much higher in cost than gas extracted from Egypt’s own fields or imported through overland pipelines.
The source said the ministry also agreed to keep one LNG shipment as an emergency reserve that could be tapped if the market needs additional volumes this month.
According to the source, February’s imports are lower than in January, when Egypt received seven LNG shipments, but higher than the same month last year, when it imported four.
He estimated the five shipments at about $200 million to $250 million, while total gas import costs from October through January reached about $2.7 billion.
Egypt is grappling with a widening trade deficit driven by petroleum imports, whose value rose to $19.4 billion in 2024-2025.
The source said LNG imports account for about 25% of natural gas volumes traded in the domestic market during the summer, compared with 60% from local production and 15% from Israeli gas.
In a related development, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi met last week with officials from several international oil companies operating in Egypt to discuss ways to develop drilling technology and field development, supporting a five-year plan to double domestic crude oil output.
Four global gas companies have earmarked investments estimated at $380 million to drill and develop five natural gas wells in Egyptian territorial waters by the end of April, as part of the ministry’s preparations to limit the impact of higher gas consumption during the summer, according to earlier statements by a source familiar with the gas production file.
