Damietta liquefaction plant to export c.550 mn cfd of natural gas by April

Damietta LNG plant to reopen in April after six-year hiatus: TheDamietta liquefaction plant will reopen in April and export around 550 mn cfd of natural gas following a six-year hiatus, an oil ministry source told the domestic press. The potential resumption of exports comes as plant operator Union Fenosa Gas (UGS), a JV between Union Fenosa and Eni, has reportedly agreed to drop a USD 2 bn arbitration claim lodged after gas to the facility was cut off in 2012. State-owned gas company ُEGAS will instead compensate UGS for its losses through profits derived from its 10% ownership of the facility. Eni is now waiting for approval from the Oil Ministry to connect the Damietta plant to the Zohr gas treatment plant. The liquefaction facility, one of two in Egypt, is an anchor component of the Sisi administration’s positioning of Egypt as the premier energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean.