Sameh Fahmi: Egypt's first exported gas shipment to Spain starts

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi yesterday visited the maritime area of Damietta province to inspect shipping processes and witness the launch of a huge vessel designed to export Egyptian liquefied natural gas.

The minister's visit is part of a joint Egyptian-Spanish project to export Egyptian gas to Spain.

Fahmi stated that Egypt's new membership of the exporting natural gas countries is a result of the government's policy of encouraging foreign investment in Egypt.

The minister mentioned that the export of Egyptian natural gas to Spain was agreed during President Mubarak's trip to Spain last November when the Union Fenosa company committed itself to invest US$1.3 billion in Egypt in a project to liquefy and export natural gas.

The project is the largest global venture to liquefy natural gas, accommodating 7.6 billion cubic meters of gas annually to produce 4 million tones of liquefied gas, the Minister stated.

He mentioned that the national economy would receive an annual input of US $ 250 million from the first stage of the project.