OPEC member and gas-rich Qatar will supply Egypt with up to 24 cargos of liquefied natural gas starting May 28 as the North African country struggles to meet its domestic energy needs, the first under-secretary for agreements and exploration at the Egyptian Oil Ministry said in remarks published on Wednesday.
OPEC member and gas-rich
Qatar
will
supply
Egypt
with
up to 24 cargos of liquefied natural gas starting May 28 as the North African
country struggles to meet its domestic energy needs, the first under-secretary
for agreements and exploration at the Egyptian Oil Ministry said in remarks
published on Wednesday.
Under the swap deal, BG Group PLC and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd will
give Egypt about 500 million cubic feet a day of the natural gas they extract
in the country to help ease its fuel shortage, while Qatar Gas will send the
LNG directly to the companies' overseas customers, Tarek el-Barkatawy said
according to the state-owned Middle East News Agency, or MENA.
Over four months
Qatar
will
send 18 to 24 cargos of up to 3.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas each, Mr.
Barkatawy said.
The Egyptian oil ministry said earlier this week that the two countries are
still negotiating the credit terms for the deal, but the North African country
will not pay for these shipments immediately in order to preserve its foreign
reserves.
Egypt is working to secure oil- and gas-supply deals on favorable credit terms
from major Arab producers in an attempt to ease fuel shortages and a government
cash crunch that have proved politically damaging for the country's Islamist
President Mohammed Morsi.
Libya
,
another member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has
agreed in principle to offer
Egypt
close
to one million barrels a month of crude oil on a lengthy one-year credit term,
officials from the two countries told The Wall Street Journal. OPEC member
Iraq
has
also agreed on a draft contract to supply
Egypt
with
four million barrels of crude a month on three-month interest-free credit,
officials from both countries said.
Egypt
, a
significant gas producer with much of its output consumed domestically, began
reining in exports last year and is planning to issue a tender soon for local
firms to import liquefied natural gas to meet its domestic needs. It is in
talks with
Russia
for
gas supplies, while
Algeria
informed the Egyptian government it can only start negotiating natural-gas
deals next year once it boosts its domestic production from new fields.
The country has faced a diesel shortage since last year, which has in turn led
to rising food costs, long queues at filling stations and electricity
blackouts. The fuel crisis has compounded broader economic problems in the
country, which in 2011 overthrew the government of Hosni Mubarak in a popular
uprising, paving the way for the electoral victory of Mr. Morsi's Muslim
Brotherhood.
Egypt
's
government is short of funds and has been negotiating with the International
Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan, which analysts and investors say is
critical for the country. IMF officials left
Cairo
last
month without agreeing on the terms of the loan.
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