Egypt’s bid to position itself as the premier energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean got another boost yesterday on the Levant side of the equation, as the Oil Ministry signed two MoUs to help fuel Syria’s reconstruction by supplying natural gas and petroleum products.

What’s in the agreements: Egypt will use its floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and the national gas grid to regasify and transport fuel to Damascus for power generation. The agreements also open the door for Egyptian technical expertise to be used in rehabilitating Syria’s midstream and downstream energy infrastructure, according to a statement from Egypt’s Cabinet.

The Madbouly government made its positioning crystal clear in the statement, stating that the MoU reflects Egypt’s position as a “logistics hub for trading all types of conventional and renewable energy.”

Egypt inked a similar supply agreement with Lebanon last week and has also locked in a long-term transit agreement with Cyprus, part of a broader strategy to position the country as the East Med’s premier energy hub. Other components of the strategy include fuel bunkering facilities on the Suez Canal and the export of green fuel and green electrons to Europe.

REMEMBER- There are four FSRUs in place right now, including the Hoegh Galleon, Energos Power, Energos Eskimo, and Energos Winter. The first three are moored in Ain Sokhna, while the Winter is in Damietta. The Hoegh Gandria will arrive in Egypt at the end of this year to replace the Galleon on a 10-year lease. The four current vessels give us c. 2.7 bcf/d of regasification capacity. We exclusively reported last month that the Oil Ministry had shelved plans to phase out the FSRUs.

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