OAPEC: Egypt Natural Gas Exports Climb 900%

The report on the developments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen for the third quarter of 2021 revealed that the largest growth in the volume of Arab countries’ exports of natural gas came from Egypt, which exported about one million tons, compared to about 0.1 million tons, year-on-year, with an increase of about 900%.

The report issued by the the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) indicated that this continuous growth in the volume of exports is due to the restarting of the liquefaction complex in Damietta during the month of February, which has a production capacity of about 5 million tons per year, after it had been inactive for about 8 years, in addition to the continued operation of the “Idku” complex, which has a production capacity of about 7.2 million tons per year.

It pointed out that the third quarter of 2021 witnessed the export of about 0.6 million tons from the Damietta complex, bringing the total exports from the complex since its restart in February 2021 to about 1.6 million tons, which targeted several markets in Asia, led by India, Pakistan, and China, and the rest was exported to Spain, Belgium and Kuwait.

The report suggested that Egypt would achieve a record number of LNG exports by the end of 2021, after resuming export activity at this high rate thanks to the growth of domestic production after making several gas discoveries and accelerating their development, especially the Zohr field and the Atoll field.

In August, OAPEC had revealed in a report that Egypt's exports of natural gas amounted to about 1.4 million tons during the Q2 of 2021.

It pointed out that the Q2 of 2021 witnessed the export of about 7 shipments of LNG from the Damietta complex, with a total of 0.63 million tons, compared to 5 shipments loaded during the first quarter, with a total of 0.3 million tons.

The total number of shipments loaded from the Damietta complex since its restart reached 12 shipments with a total of 0.93 million tons, of which 9 shipments were exported to several markets in Asia, led by India and Pakistan, and the rest were exported to Spain, Belgium and Kuwait.