عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Egypt Rents Floating Liquefied Gas Unit to Support Energy Security

Camel riders are seen at the foot of Khafre Pyramid in Giza, south of the Egyptian capital. (AFP)
Camel riders are seen at the foot of Khafre Pyramid in Giza, south of the Egyptian capital. (AFP)
TT
TT

Egypt Rents Floating Liquefied Gas Unit to Support Energy Security

Camel riders are seen at the foot of Khafre Pyramid in Giza, south of the Egyptian capital. (AFP)
Camel riders are seen at the foot of Khafre Pyramid in Giza, south of the Egyptian capital. (AFP)

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum announced on Thursday that the country’s Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has concluded an agreement with Norway’s Hoegh LNG to rent the Hoegh Galleon floating unit for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In a statement, the ministry said the unit will be rented for storage and regasification “to secure additional needs for domestic consumption during the summer.”

Hoegh LNG said the unit would be leased for an interim period from June 2024 to February 2026 and deployed in Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea. The aim of the agreement was “to support energy security in Egypt”, the company said in a statement.

Egypt is expected to increase LNG imports during the summer months to meet high demand that caused a wave of power outages last summer, which shocked Egyptians who had been used to a decade of reliable power supplies by the gas producer.

Sources told Reuters that the government bought at least two LNG cargoes in April and is expected to purchase up to 20 over the spring and summer to prepare for increasing power demand.

Returning to imports would reverse the most populous Arab country’s position as a natural gas exporter in recent years, Reuters reported.

Egypt, which faces a growing demand for gas from its population of about 106 million people, is seeking to become a regional gas supplier, but has not made other major discoveries than the giant Zohr field in 2015.

Figures released by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed that in 2023, total natural gas production in Egypt decreased by 11.5 percent on an annual basis to reach about 59.29 billion cubic meters, the lowest production level since 2017.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
TT
TT

Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after inflation across the UK fell below its target rate of 2%.
The bank said its rate-setting panel lowered the benchmark rate to 4.75% — its second cut in three months — though its governor Andrew Bailey cautioned that interest rates would not be falling too fast over coming months.
“We need to make sure inflation stays close to target, so we can’t cut interest rates too quickly or by too much,” he said. “But if the economy evolves as we expect it’s likely that interest rates will continue to fall gradually from here.”
In the year to September, UK inflation stood at 1.7%, its lowest level since April 2021 and below the central bank’s target rate of 2%, The Associated Press reported.
Central banks worldwide dramatically increased borrowing costs from near zero during the coronavirus pandemic when prices started to shoot up, first as a result of supply chain issues built up and then because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which pushed up energy costs.
As inflation rates have recently fallen from multi-decade highs, the central banks have started cutting interest rates.
Economists have warned that worries about the future path of prices following last week's tax-raising budget from the new Labour government and the economic impact of US President-elect Donald Trump may limit the number of cuts next year.
The decision comes a week after Treasury chief Rachel Reeves announced around 70 billion pounds ($90 billion) of extra spending, funded through increased business taxes and borrowing. Economists think that the splurge, coupled with the prospect of businesses cushioning the tax hikes by raising prices, could lead to higher inflation next year.
The rate decision also comes a day after Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential election. He has indicated that he will cut taxes and introduce tariffs on certain imported goods when he returns to the White House in January. Both policies have the potential to be inflationary both in the US and globally, thereby prompting Bank of England policymakers to keep interest rates higher than initially planned.