Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has asked global suppliers to speed up additional liquefied natural gas deliveries starting this month to replace Israeli gas supplies that stopped after Iran bombarded facilities in Tel Aviv, a source at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said.
The sudden cutoff is pushing Cairo back toward costlier LNG at a moment when it has been trying to curb imports. Officials are now racing to secure extra cargoes and run floating regasification ships near full capacity to avoid a repeat of past shortages and power stress. Asharq Bloomberg reported that a “force majeure” clause in the agreement between the two countries allows the supply cutoff.
The source, who asked not to be named, told Al Manassa that EGAS’ March LNG plan 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.
Israeli gas is cheaper than imported LNG. Estimates put the cost of LNG at about $12 per million British thermal units, compared with $7.7 for Israeli gas.
Raising regasification ship capacity
In the same context, EGAS has told the regasification ships Egypt leases to raise operating capacity from typical winter levels of 40% to 45% to more than 90%, in case the Israeli flows remain halted.
The source said a prolonged outage would mean relying on additional LNG cargoes and, therefore, running the regasification ships at maximum capacity.
The petroleum ministry began expanding its leased regasification units in 2024 after gas supply disruptions during the war on Gaza, at a monthly cost of $7 million to $9 million per vessel.
Separately, a source at the Petroleum Ministry told Al Manassa the ministry is coordinating with Jordan to restart the “Energos Force” regasification ship anchored at Aqaba port after a three-month halt, to support gas supplies to Egypt.
Egypt leased the “Energos Force,” but sent it last August to Aqaba to regasify LNG cargoes for both the Egyptian and Jordanian markets.
“Right now, Egypt and Jordan are coordinating to resume LNG regasification at Aqaba port for both countries after Israeli gas supplies to Egypt and Jordan stopped,” the petroleum source added, also asking not to be named.
No power cuts during the crisis
For its part, the Petroleum Ministry has tried to reassure Egyptians that the gas shortages that hit homes and factories during the Gaza war will not be repeated. In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said it relies on diverse energy sources that ensure supply continuity amid the current regional disruptions.
The petroleum source ruled out resorting to load-shedding plans in March and April, citing lower electricity consumption on the national grid. Peak daily demand expected in March and April is about 32,000 megawatts, he said, adding that the ministry is supplying power plants with about 3.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day, enough to generate that output.
He said pressure on energy supply typically starts in summer, as consumption rises by about 10% starting in May.
For the industrial sector, the source said local factories are currently receiving close to 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day, covering about 85% of their operating capacity.
He added that fertilizer and petrochemicals plants account for about 35% to 40% of industrial gas consumption, and said current market volumes remain within a safe range.
“The petroleum ministry is currently prioritizing natural gas supplies for value-added industries, led by petrochemicals that are exported abroad to boost foreign-currency resources for the state budget,” the source said.
Although LNG helped spare Egypt from crises during the Gaza war, it will weigh on its external balances because of its higher cost.
Imports of petroleum products rose by about $6 billion to $19.4 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025, driven by the cost of imported LNG, according to the source, who said Egypt still needs imports because domestic production covers only about 56% of consumption.
The government’s efforts to build up gas stocks come a few weeks after the petroleum ministry agreed with global LNG suppliers to cut imports by 37% in February, amid lower domestic consumption and higher production, according to a source previously briefed on the ministry’s gas-import file.
