Egypt’s Egas seeks LNG over October-December

Egypt's state-owned gas firm Egas is seeking 20 spot cargoes for delivery over October-December through a tender that will close on 12 September.

The firm is seeking 17 deliveries to Ain Sukhna, and three deliveries to Jordan's 3.8mn t/yr Aqaba import terminal.

Egas was last in the market to seek up to five cargoes for delivery over August-September, through a tender that closed on 29 July. This tender was likely fully awarded at an average of a $1.50/mn Btu premium to the Dutch TTF, possibly to TotalEnergies, Gunvor and BP, traders said.

Traders in mid-August estimated that Egypt would seek about eight to 15 spot cargoes for winter. Its latest requirement for 20 cargoes may indicate that the country's demand for imports is leaning towards the higher end.

Egypt's appetite for spot cargoes is likely to remain, particularly as domestic gas production in the country has been falling. Gas production in Egypt fell to its lowest for seven years in June, the country's latest submission to the Joint Organisation Data Initiative (Jodi) show. At the same time, its pipeline gas deliveries from Israel have been hit with uncertainty since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Pipeline deliveries from Israel to Egypt fell to 731mn m³ in June from 851mn m³ in May, having reached record highs earlier this year. LNG exports from Egypt this winter are "not very likely", Italy's Eni said back on 26 July.

By Rou Urn Lee