Egypt Loses Role As LNG Spot Market Darling

摘要

After starting LNG imports in early 2015, one-time LNG exporter Egypt rapidly became the darling of global spot markets. But in another remarkable change of fortune, Cairo now claims to be heading for gas self- sufficiency by the end of 2018, courtesy of a string of finds that could also allow LNG exports to resume. The petroleum ministry has said it wants to stop importing LNG by 2019 —indeed, Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla suggested in January that imports could halt by June — and an Egyptian source says one of the country's two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) will be let go as i?s no longer needed. But there is some skepticism the country can survive on domestic gas alone. "The one critical thing to watch will be what happens this summer when traditionally Egypt's demand soars," Wood Mackenzie's Lucas Schmitt said.