Shell Eyes Higher Egypt LNG Exports - Official

By: Yassmine ElSayed

CAIRO, Feb. 2 (SEE) - Shell hopes to increase LNG exports from its Idku plant in Egypt in 2019 having stepped up supplies in the latter part of last year, its head of integrated gas, Maarten Wetselaar, said.

Speaking to reporters following the release of Shell’s Q4 earnings, Wetselaar said: “We’ve seen an uptick in gas availability in Egypt recently so we’ve been exporting LNG and we expect to see that increase further in 2019.”

“Egypt, is now self-sufficient in gas, enabling Shell to resume more regular LNG exports having been restricted to just the occasional cargo over the past few years,” he said.

Wetselaar said benefiting from increased gas availability for its LNG plants was the “biggest value opportunity for the onstream part of our business.”

He cited extra feed gas serving the Gorgon plant in Australia, Oman LNG, Nigeria LNG and Atlantic LNG in Trinidad and Tobago in Q4.

The rampup of the Eni-operated Zohr field has been instrumental in Egypt halting LNG imports and becoming a regular exporter again. Egypt’s other LNG export plant, the Eni-operated Damietta facility, remains idled, however.