Egypt’s gas exports to Europe reach 60% in 2022

REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

Egypt exported 60 percent of its natural gas production from Damietta liquefaction plant to Europe for the first time, according to a local media report.

The plant has exported 7.2 million tons of natural gas, Egypt Independent newspaper said, citing the ministry of petroleum and mineral resources.

Nearly four million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was exported in 2022, the largest in the plant’s almost 20-year history.

This makes it the top plant in Egypt in liquefied natural gas exports, the ministry stated, as it contributes to boosting Egypt’s role as a regional energy hub in the Mediterranean region.

The plant has successfully produced and exported its 500th shipment of liquefied natural gas since it started operating in 2005, the report said.

Production at the plant ceased for eight years before resuming in February 2021.

The Damietta liquefied natural gas plant has been operating through the Natural Gas Holding Company and Eni, which has been working in Egypt since 1954 through its company, Eooc.

Eooc is currently the largest producer in Egypt, with a production share of hydrocarbons amounting to nearly 350,000 barrels per day.

During 2022, Eni produced about 60 percent of the total gas produced in Egypt, the newspaper said.