QatarEnergy Orders Six More LNG Vessels from China State Shipbuilding

QatarEnergy Orders Six More LNG Vessels from China State Shipbuilding
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QatarEnergy Orders Six More LNG Vessels from China State Shipbuilding

QatarEnergy Orders Six More LNG Vessels from China State Shipbuilding

QatarEnergy has signed a deal with China State Shipbuilding Corporation to buy six additional ultra-large ships to carry liquefied natural gas, it said on Monday, raising such vessels it has on order to 128 as part of a fleet-expansion programme.

The ships, QC-Max, are the largest LNG vessels ever built, with a capacity of 271,000 cubic metres each, QatarEnergy said, Reuters reported.

They will be built at China's Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, with delivery expected between 2028 and 2031.

QatarEnergy, already among the world's top LNG exporters, will boost its position with its North Field expansion project, which will ramp up Qatar's liquefaction capacity from 77 million tons per annum to 142 mtpa by 2030.

The agreement with CSSC takes the total number of QC-Max vessels on order by QatarEnergy to 24, worth a total of about $8 billion, QatarEnergy said.



Egypt Approves $91 Billion Budget for 2025/26

 The sun rises in Cairo, Egypt March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
The sun rises in Cairo, Egypt March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Egypt Approves $91 Billion Budget for 2025/26

 The sun rises in Cairo, Egypt March 25, 2025. (Reuters)
The sun rises in Cairo, Egypt March 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Egypt's cabinet approved a 4.6 trillion Egyptian pound ($91 billion) draft state budget for the financial year that will begin in July, a government statement said on Wednesday, as it continues to tighten its finances under an IMF program.

Expenditures will rise by 18% and revenue by 19% over the current 2024/25 budget. Revenue is expected to hit 3.1 trillion pounds, working out to a deficit of about 1.5 trillion pounds ($30 billion).

The increased expenditure partly reflects elevated headline inflation, which was running at an annual 12.8% in February.

Financial reforms under an $8 billion financial reform program signed in March 2024 with the International Monetary Fund have helped Egypt bring inflation down from a peak of 38% in September 2023.

The IMF this month approved the disbursement of $1.2 billion to Egypt after its fourth review of the program.

The new budget targets a primary surplus of 795 billion pounds, equal to 4% of GDP, up from the 3.5% primary surplus originally targeted in the 2024/25 budget.

The IMF granted the government a waiver in the fourth review after the surplus came in 0.5% of GDP lower than Egypt's earlier commitment.

In its third review in June, the IMF praised Egypt for its "strict control of spending".

The new budget also lowers public debt to 82.9% of GDP from an expected 92% in 2024/25, the cabinet statement said.

The cabinet said 732.6 billion pounds in spending in the new budget would be allocated for subsidies, grants and social benefits, an increase of 15.2%.

The budget increases commodities and bread subsidies by 20% to 160 billion pounds. It will also include 75 billion pounds to subsidize petroleum products, 75 billion pounds to subsidize electricity and 3.5 billion pounds to subsidize natural gas deliveries to households, the statement added.