Egypt enters world natural gas exporters club
Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy highlighted that Egypt's oil sector has succeeded in joining the world natural gas exporters club despite the international challenges, atop of which are the major world discoveries, big reserves and difficult access to the world markets.
He announced last week that Egypt will export, for the first time, the first natural gas consignment to Spain next December.
This in addition to luring foreign investments, modifying the natural gas pricing and developing the infrastructures which come among other challenges, he added.
In a field visit to the Mubarak Complex for Liquefaction of Natural Gas in Dameitta, Fahmy said that the coming period will witness the operation of five big projects for exporting natural gas including the Mubarak Complex for Liquefaction of Natural Gas in Damietta and the Mediterranean Sea Gases Complex in Port Said.
This besides a liquefied gas unit in Edko and the second stage of Arab Gas Pipeline (Aqaba-Rehab).
The Minister noted that exporting natural gas has proven highly significant as it provides Egypt with foreign currency reserves creates job opportunities and ensures technology transfer, a matter which leads to pumping more world investments into the exploration activities.
The Mubarak Complex for Liquefaction of Natural Gas in Damietta is built over an area of 280 feddans and is considered the biggest liquefaction gas plant in the world.
Its total investment cost is worth $ 1.3 billion in which Union Fenosa Gas contributes with 80 % in the project while the Egyptian oil sector shares with the remaining part.
The project's total capacity reaches 7.5 billion cubic meters annually to produce 4.8 million tons of liquefied natural gas which is shipped to Spain and Italy.
Meanwhile, Fahmy attended the meetings organized by the Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas (ELNG) with the international finance corporations and the Egyptian banks on the occasion of selecting the first liquefied natural gas unit in Edko as "the year 2004 deal" for natural gas projects on the world level.
The meeting aimed at providing $ 950 million from several world financial corporations and banks, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), Tokyo Bank, Credit Lyonnais Bank, the HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Canada and the Societe Generale Bank.
This besides the Egyptian banks' contribution atop of which are the Commercial International Bank (CIB), Misr International Bank (MIBank) and the National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB).
Fahmy pinpointed that the liquefied natural gas project in Edko, currently under construction, includes two units, one for exporting natural gas to France and the second for the US and Italy and could be increased to six export units.
Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Egypt Luigi Ernesto Marcon said that the Bank's keenness on financing the giant natural gas projects in Egypt reflects the EU's willingness to cement cooperation with Egypt in this concern.