Egypt will become a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter with a production estimated to reach some 3,500 million cubic feet a day by the year 2004, reported Egypt online, citing officials as saying.
Over the past 15 years, gas production in Egypt has doubled to about 2,700 million cubic feet per day, said an official.
The government, said the news service, is geared to substitute gas for oil as the primary fuel for power stations, which led to a big increase in the domestic use of gas.
Within the same context, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and an Indian company for fertilizers have recently signed a contract on natural gas supplies, said the news service.
The gas will be used in a new factory to be set up by the Indian company in Southern Suez.
The project will cost 475 million dollars, and is expected to create new jobs for Egyptians in the industrial zone in Southern Suez.
Egypt online added that the Shell company has also signed an agreement with the EGPC to extend natural gas to the Fayoum governorate.
The agreement comes as part of the petroleum ministry’s plan to expand the distribution network for natural gas.
“The agreement gives the Fayoum company for natural gas, an offshoot of Shell, a permit for 20 years to set up the network of Fayoum through extending and operating lines to houses and plants. Shell will finance the network,” said an EGPC statement, cited by the news service.
In another development, Egypt will establish a holding company to organize activity in its increasingly lucrative natural gas sector, a government official said.
"The Ministry of Petroleum is seeking to separate gas activity from oil and create an economic authority to develop private sector and joint private- public sector investments, in production, transport and distribution of natural gas," Chief Cabinet Secretary, Ahmed Abu Taleb told reporters.
Egypt’s proven natural gas reserves stand at around 50 trillion cubic feet and are expected to rise to 110 trillion, he said.
Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan signed an agreement in January to build a special liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Egypt with an annual capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters a year – Albawaba.com
