Egypt is turning from an energy exporter to an importer with the government's recent move to import 7.79 million tonnes of LNG for $3.55 billion and 6.37 million tonnes of crude oil for $3.51 billion, the ministry said Sunday.
Last month, Egypt's Natural Gas Holding, EGAS, issued a tender to buy 45 shipments of LNG for delivery between October 2015 and December 2016.
EGAS will import 24 LNG shipments for a period of two years starting from the last quarter of 2015 from Russian giant Rosneft to meet its domestic market needs of natural gas.
According to Rosneft, the agreement will let the Russian company gain access into to a lucrative and growing Egyptian gas market.
Despite the fact that the Middle eastern country has sufficient energy resources for its domestic needs, the country's lack of investment in the energy sector have forced the country to resort to energy imports. Blackouts are a common occurrence in the country whose government is unable to pay its debts to international energy companies.
The Gulf countries came to the aid of the Sisi government for energy needs and the country once again has become a hot spot for energy investments.
Annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Egypt for the previous years reduced from 5.1 percent in 2010 to 1.8 percent in 2011 and still remains below the pre-revolution level, averaging 2.1 percent in 2013.
Financial support from some Persian Gulf countries has helped Egypt meet its domestic energy demand, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Gokhan Yildiz
Anadolu Agency
gokhan.yildiz@aa.com.tr