With the aim of bolstering its liquefied natural gas (LNG) arsenal, Egypt has fortified its bonds with Qatar within the energy and natural gas domains through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and QatarEnergy, the Persian Gulf state’s heavyweight.
The MoU was signed in the Qatari capital, Doha, by Karim Badawi , Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi , Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy.
The ceremony was attended by Walid El-Feki , Egypt’s Ambassador to Doha, and Mahmoud Abdel Hamid , CEO of EGAS. The deal will enable the two countries to enhance cooperation in LNG sales, imports, and other energy arenas, within the framework of their strategic energy alliance.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources – Egypt highlighted: “This MoU marks a significant step toward diversifying natural gas supply sources and expanding the frameworks of cooperation for securing gas cargoes.
“This comes as part of implementing supply diversification mechanisms to secure Egypt’s energy needs, in parallel with efforts to boost domestic production. Such measures contribute to creating added value that reinforces Egypt’s role as a regional gas hub.”
This MoU is perceived to represent a consolidation of the strategic partnership between the two countries in the energy sector, with QatarEnergy’s activities in Egypt primarily concentrated in the Mediterranean, where it currently operates in six offshore areas.
The firm intends to inject further investments over the next five years to drill multiple exploratory wells in cooperation with several international energy majors. EGAS and QatarEnergy have inked the articles of the executive mechanism of supplying several Qatari LNG cargoes.
These are scheduled for delivery at the Sokhna and Damietta ports under the bilateral agreement. The executive mechanism was signed by the CEO of EGAS, representing the Egyptian side, and Abdulla Ahmad Al-Hussaini , Executive Vice President of Marketing at QatarEnergy, representing the Qatari side.
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Egypt also penned multiple commercial agreements with Cyprus for a natural gas project that aims to enable Cypriot gas to reach Egypt’s infrastructure.