Egypt Exports 90% of its Gas to European Markets


Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla speaking at the Egypt Oil and Gas Convention in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla speaking at the Egypt Oil and Gas Convention in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt Exports 90% of its Gas to European Markets


Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla speaking at the Egypt Oil and Gas Convention in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla speaking at the Egypt Oil and Gas Convention in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt exported eight million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year, up from seven million in 2021, announced Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla.

During the opening of the eighth Egypt Oil and Gas Convention in Cairo, Molla said that 90 percent of Egyptian LNG exports would be destined for European Union markets.

The conference organized by Egypt Oil and Gas, focuses the efforts on achieving a balance between the sustainability of securing energy supplies and reducing emissions.

Molla reviewed the idea of establishing an East Mediterranean Gas Forum after communicating with neighboring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region and European Union countries taking advantage of the natural resources in the area.

It will also help secure part of the energy supplies for the EU countries.

He pointed out that all these efforts prepared Egypt to meet part of the demand for natural gas for European markets, as it exported about seven million tons of LNG last year, 80 percent of which was for the EU markets.

The Minister was optimistic that Egypt would achieve more in the coming period with the continuous and fruitful cooperation between the local and international oil sector companies and everyone’s cooperation to increase the production of oil wealth, ensure the sustainability of operations, and reduce emissions.

The petroleum sector succeeded as a result of cooperation, interdependence, and teamwork on an integrated program in partnership between the sector’s entities affiliated with the state, the private sector, and international companies, with the full support of President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi and the government.

Molla stressed that the forum was a pioneer in its inception and topics, which proved in the recent period the importance of cooperation between countries of the eastern Mediterranean and EU amid global challenges in the energy market.

Gas decarbonization requires concerted efforts to accelerate its achievement to exploit natural resources and move towards carbon removal in connection with the vital participation of the oil and gas sector in the successful Climate Summit (COP 27) recently organized by Egypt.

He also said that the oil and gas sector had the outstanding human resources, skills, and expertise required to achieve its climate goals, noting that the industry will find mechanisms and cooperation platforms to maximize work with its global partners, making optimal use of its resources, natural abilities, and cadres.



Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan's auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world's best known car makers, Reuters said.
The integration would create the world's third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also give the two companies scale and a chance to share resources in the face of intense competition from Tesla and more nimble Chinese rivals, such as BYD.
The merger of the two storied Japanese brands - Honda is Japan's second-largest automaker and Nissan its no. 3 - would mark the biggest reshaping in the global auto industry since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA merged in 2021 to create Stellantis in a $52 billion deal.
Smaller Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is top shareholder, was also considering joining, the companies said. The chief executives of all three companies held a joint press conference in Tokyo.
"The rise of Chinese automakers and new players has changed the car industry quite a lot," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told the press conference.
"We have to build up capabilities to fight with them by 2030, otherwise we'll be beaten," he said.
The two companies would aim for combined sales of 30 trillion yen ($191 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen through the potential merger, they said.
They aimed to wrap up talks around June 2025 and then set up a holding company by August 2026, at which time both companies' shares would be delisted.
Honda has a market capitalisation of more than $40 billion, while Nissan is valued at about $10 billion.
Honda will appoint the majority of the holding company's board, it said.
Combining with Mitsubishi Motors would take the Japanese group's global sales to more than 8 million cars. The current No. 3 group is South Korea's Hyundai and Kia .
Honda and Nissan have been exploring ways to bolster their partnership, including a merger, Reuters reported last week.
The two companies said in March they were considering cooperation on electrification and software development. They agreed to conduct joint research and widened the collaboration to Mitsubishi Motors in August.
Last month, Nissan announced a plan to cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global production capacity after sales plunged in the key China and U.S. markets. Honda also reported worse-than-expected earnings due to declining sales in China.
Like other foreign carmakers, Honda and Nissan have lost ground in the world's biggest market China to BYD and other local brands that make electric and hybrid cars loaded with innovative software.
In a separate online press conference with the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan on Monday, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said he did not believe the Honda-Nissan alliance would be successful, saying the two automakers were not complementary.
Ghosn is wanted as a fugitive in Japan for jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon. His 2018 arrest for financial wrongdoing pitched Nissan into a crisis.
French automaker Renault, Nissan's largest shareholder, is open in principle to a deal and would examine all the implications of a tie-up, sources have said.
Taiwan's Foxconn, seeking to expand its nascent EV contract manufacturing business, approached Nissan about a bid but the Japanese company rejected it, sources have told Reuters.
Foxconn decided to pause the approach after it sent a delegation to meet with Renault in France, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Shares in Honda ended the day up 3.8%, Nissan rose 1.6% and Mitsubishi Motors gained 5.3% after the news reports on the details of the planned merger, while the benchmark Nikkei closed up 1.2%.