Eni took a final investment decision on Cronos, targeting 2028 for routing Cypriot gas through Egypt

Good morning, ladies and gents. It’s a calm morning on the news front with a couple of stories to dig into.

We asked economists whether the EGP’s swings should worry you, and the one word answer is: relax. The longer answer — where flexibility stops being healthy and starts eating confidence — is the one worth your time reading.

Meanwhile, Alexandria’s container gate is about to get pricier just as the ports are catching trade the Gulf is rerouting our way. Whether a fee this small actually matters depends on who you ask, and the sources we spoke to don’t agree.

Also worth watching this week: Eni finally signed for Cronos, and the IMF board meets tomorrow on the seventh review. More on both stories below.

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Destination Sahel is back for a second edition — and this year, it’s not just about the beach.

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are pouring serious capital into the North Coast, Gulf buyers keep showing up despite regional headwinds, and a new 400 km master plan could reshape the whole coastline before summer’s out.

Over this season’s series, stay tuned to see who’s really buying Sahel, where the money’s coming from, and what could still go wrong.

Plus, the hotels, restaurants, and openings worth checking out this season.

Coming straight to your inbox — today.

A concrete decision

Eni took a final investment decision (FID) on the Cronos gas development offshore Cyprus, targeting first gas to market in 2028, to be routed, processed, and liquefied through Egypt, according to a press release. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides approved the field’s development and production plan, along with its commercial framework, in May.

The field sits in Block 6 and holds more than 3 tcf of gas initially in place. It is expected to produce at a plateau of 500 mmscf / d. Last year, the Oil Ministry signed three agreements with Block 6 partners Eni (operator, 50%) and TotalEnergies to move and process Cronos gas through Zohr-linked infrastructure, liquefy it at Damietta, and re-export it to Europe.

The FID turns Egypt’s gas hub strategy into a concrete development. Cyprus gets its first route to monetize offshore gas without building its own LNG infrastructure, while Egypt earns value from transporting, processing, and liquefying it. Eni says the project also restarts the Damietta LNG plant and restores structural LNG exports from Egypt, which marks a reversal after falling domestic output curbed exports and pushed the country back to importing LNG. Eni will market 50% of the volumes, equivalent to 1.4 mtpa, implying total output of about 2.8 mtpa. It did not disclose the development cost or the terms governing Egypt’s infrastructure.

Aphrodite is moving too: The field’s partners — Chevron (35%), Shell’s BG Cyprus (35%), and NewMed Energy (30%) — have completed all signatures on an MoU to sell all recoverable gas from the 3.7 tcf field, in Cyprus’s Block 12, to EGAS, NewMed said in a disclosure (pdf). The parties are now negotiating a binding supply agreement, and signatures on a separate host-government agreement — covering a USD 2 bn offshore pipeline to Egypt, fully funded by Cyprus — are expected within weeks, as the Oil Ministry and Chevron push toward a September FID. Other Cypriot fields could follow the same model, with the Pegasus and Glaucus fields also in line.

IMF could greenlight tranches tomorrow

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board will meet tomorrow to decide on the seventh review of Egypt’s loan program, according to its calendar. This green light from the board will unlock some USD 1.6 bn, between the seventh tranche of the Extended Fund Facility and the second Resilience and Sustainability Facility tranche. Cairo should receive the funds within days of board approval, Mohamed Maait, executive director for Arab States and the Maldives at the Fund, previously told EnterpriseAM.

Proceeding apace: The Madbouly government and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on the seventh review under our USD 8 bn EFF and the second review of the parallel RSF late last month. At the time, the global lender commended Egypt’s energy price adjustments, spending cuts, and flexible exchange rate for cushioning the regional war spillovers and portfolio outflows.

Red Sea’s loss, Sidi Kerir’s gain

At least eight VLCCs are heading to Sidi Kerir Mediterranean terminal, with arrivals scheduled through mid-August as Yemen’s Houthi threats and rising war-risk ins. costs make Yanbu-loaded exports riskier and push Saudi crude onto Egypt’s pipeline workaround instead, Bloomberg reports. Aramco started offering additional Sidi Kerir cargoes on a spot basis earlier this week, with no volumes or pricing disclosed.

Why Sidi Kerir? The terminal lets tankers collect Saudi crude in the Mediterranean without entering the Red Sea’s southern chokepoint. Saudi barrels move through Aramco’s East-West Pipeline from Ras Tanura to Yanbu, then north up the Red Sea to Ain Sokhna — away from Bab Al Mandab rather than toward it — where they discharge into the Sumed pipeline, which carries the crude north across Egypt to load onto tankers at Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean.

SOUND SMART- A VLCC — very large crude carrier — hauls about 2 mn bbl, which is what makes it the workhorse of long-haul crude trade and also why it can’t transit the Suez Canal fully loaded. At around 20 meters, a loaded VLCC’s draft is too deep for the canal. That’s the problem Sumed partially solves — the pipeline runs parallel to the canal, so tankers can discharge parts of the cargo at Ain Sokhna, let the barrels cross Egypt by pipeline, and reload on VLCCs at Sidi Kerir.

At the loading point, it’s a different story: No tankers were publicly visible at Yanbu early yesterday, though some may have loaded with their transponders switched off. Traffic through Bab Al Mandab remained relatively brisk, with Chinese vessels, tankers carrying Russian crude, and ships linked to Iran-friendly states continuing to transit. At the same time, Western and more risk-averse Asian operators diverted or limited their exposure.

Aramco is also weighing a new pricing mechanism for Sidi Kerir cargoes sold to Asia to reflect the higher shipping costs of the longer route, Reuters reports, citing three sources it says are familiar with the matter. One source estimated that routing around the Cape of Good Hope instead could add about USD 10 mn per cargo — roughly USD 5 a barrel — for Asian buyers.

Sector conviction

B Investments wants a bigger slice of the education platform it entered three months ago. A consortium led by the EGX-listed investment firm plans to raise its combined stake in the Scientific Research, Education and Development Company — the entity behind the European Universities in Egypt (EUE) brand — to more than 40%, up from around 25% currently, Al Borsa reports, citing unnamed sources.

What we know: A consortium led by B Investments plans to funnel EGP 500-700 mn into a capital increase expected to close within days, according to the report. No further details were given.

B Investments is also said to be weighing three to four more education plays, a mix of K-12 schools and universities, on the back of rising demand for education and expected growth in student numbers. The push sits within a wider strategy to build out high-growth sectors, including food and beverage, education, and healthcare, the sources said.

REFRESHER- B Investments first bought into EUE in April, pledging EGP 560 mn through a mix of capital increase and secondary purchase — marking its first move into higher education. The firm sees “growing demand for quality education” here at home, its IR head told EnterpriseAM at the time.

Data point

14.7% — that’s the q-o-q increase in the net asset value of the country’s investment funds, reaching EGP 471 bn at the end of June, up from around EGP 411 bn at the end of March, according to the Financial Regulatory Authority’s 2Q 2026 Investment Funds Performance Report (pdf).

The certificate count grew nearly three times faster than assets. Outstanding fund certificates jumped 40.2% q-o-q to 44.04 bn, against 14.7% NAV growth — the gap says new money came in, rather than existing holdings simply appreciating. Individuals hold 74.7% of the certificates, institutions 24.3%, and founding entities the remaining 1%.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another hot day in Cairo, with a high of 38°C and a low of 26°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s not as hot in Alexandria, which will be looking at a high of 32°C and a low of 24°C.

The big story abroad

After a four-day pause in direct US-Iran hostilities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched an “attempted surprise attack” on US military bases in the region, the US Central Command said. A US military base in Jordan was reportedly targeted, Axios reports.

Latest on negotiations? Oman introduced a Gulf-backed proposal to Iran aimed at managing the Strait of Hormuz, which includes a provision for collecting voluntary transit fees, Reuters reports, citing a Gulf source and a Western diplomat.

FIFA is looking to sell around 20% of FIFA Forward Enterprise — a new commercial entity valued at some USD 20 bn. FIFA has enlisted JPMorgan to help raise USD 4.2 bn this year by courting external investors. The move has drawn criticism from fan groups, lawmakers, and UEFA, Europe’s governing body of football, with critics accusing the Switzerland-based non-profit of selling out.

China’s battery giant CATL is making strides into AI, power grids, and ships. As the world’s leading battery manufacturer, the company now powers AI data centers, positioning itself at the forefront of the global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, grid stabilization, and heavy industry electrification. Its batteries already power some 1k vessels off China’s coastline and rivers and ports.

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: EnterpriseAM’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: An international report has flagged Egypt’s subsea cable concentration as a systemic vulnerability, a risk for the country’s attempts to establish itself as a global data corridor.