Egypt, Russia to sign MoU to Promote Natural Gas as Fuel in Transportation Sector

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla discussed on Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Shulginov a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was agreed upon and will be signed soon to promote natural gas as a fuel in the transportation sector and enhance cooperation between both countries in this regard.

The two sides discussed cooperation in the field of converting cars to run on natural gas and the possibility of exchanging experiences in this field through scientific and technical cooperation, capacity building, and technology transfer, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the sixth Gas Exporting Countries Forum that is being held in Doha, the two ministers indicated the two countries' constant keenness to enhance joint cooperation.

The Russian minister affirmed his support for Egypt in hosting COP27. He also expressed his country's interest in the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) and its desire to hold subsequent meetings to discuss the forum's developments and how to coordinate cooperation between the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) and EMGF.

The EastMed Gas Forum (EMGF), a Cairo-based international organization that aims to establish a regional gas market in the Eastern Mediterranean and enhance trade relations among member states.

The meeting, which was also attended by Mohamed Hamel, Secretary-General of GECF, presented initiatives that can be put forward during COP 27 summit, with possible workshops to be conducted by GECF members, with topics such as energy transition put on the table.

This comes in light of Egypt's expansion in natural gas and amid the country's energy transition ambitions, which the Russian side expressed its interest in, the statement further elaborated.

Egypt plans to shift energy dependence to cleaner resources, including natural gas after achieving its self-sufficient in natural gas in 2018. Egypt has planned to use its position on Europe’s doorstep to become a major supplier of LNG to the continent.

Egypt is also working on a host of projects to preserve the environment by making use of the country’s plentiful natural gas production. The boom in the North African country’s gas production has been supported by huge gas discoveries and production in the Mediterranean.