We’re importing more gas from Israel: Egypt’s gas imports from Israel are expected to increase by 30% over the “coming period,” Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 7:07) on the sidelines of the Adipec expo in Abu Dhabi last week. Gas imports from Israel are used to supply our two LNG plants, where gas is liquefied for re-export to Europe, El Molla cited the latter for boosting our gas imports from Israel.

Imports jumped in 1H 2023: Egypt’s gas imports from Israel rose 21.5% y-o-y to 903 mn cubic feet per day (cf/d) on average in 1H 2023. Israeli gas imports could rise as high as 1.05 bn cf/d this month due to falling seasonal demand in Israel.

More imports, less exports: Egypt is bracing for its LNG exports to halve this year alongside a drop in revenues from LNG exports, El Molla told Sky News Arabia, saying that he expects our LNG exports to drop to 4 mn tons from the 8 mn tons recorded last year. Egypt exported some 3 mn tons of LNG during the first half of the year.

Remember: We have exported hardly any LNG over the summer months due to higher domestic consumption and lower gas production. The government’s decision to ration consumption during a seasonal spike in demand, combined with production falling to three-year lows, has put pressure on the electricity grid, forcing the government to introduce rolling blackouts since July. “We will resume LNG exports this month, confirming our presence in the market and our ability to export,” he told Sky.

Where does the Gaza Marine gas development stand? A consortium of unnamed Egyptian private companies led by Egypt’s state-owned EGAS will ink the final agreement with the Palestinian Authority to develop the Gaza Marine gas field in “a very short period,” El Molla said. Israel gave its preliminary approval to the development of a gas field off the Gaza coast in June. The agreement to develop the field was expected to be inked between EGAS and the Palestine Investment Fund back in 1Q 2023.

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