Egypt’s LNG imports top 2025 record as Cairo pushes East Mediterranean gas hub ambitions

Egypt has extended bidding for six oil and gas exploration blocks until December 14, aligning their deadline with eight other concessions, as it seeks to reverse declining domestic production while positioning its existing infrastructure as an export hub for Eastern Mediterranean gas, despite growing dependence on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The country imported a record 8.92mn tonnes of LNG in 2025, more than triple the previous year’s volume, according to MEES, citing Kpler. That record has already been overtaken: imports reached 10.52mn tonnes in January–September 2026, up about 85% from 5.70mn tonnes a year earlier, including a record 4.26mn tonnes in the third quarter, according to the Energy Research Unit.

Kpler has forecast 2026 LNG demand of 12.2mn tonnes, with domestic gas production falling to 37.3bn cubic metres. Egypt has budgeted about $10.7bn for LNG and pipeline gas imports in the 2026/27 financial year, against an estimated $8.5bn the previous year.

Egypt’s strategy rests on using its established gas processing, pipeline and liquefaction infrastructure to handle discoveries elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly Cyprus, even as falling domestic output forces it to import LNG and pipeline gas to supply power stations and industry.

The most advanced project is Cyprus’s Cronos field, where Italian energy group Eni (BIT: ENI) and France’s TotalEnergies (EPA: TTE) took a final investment decision on July 28. The partners plan to process the gas at the existing Zohr facilities in Egypt before liquefaction at Damietta for export, primarily to Europe.

Cronos is expected to begin production in 2028, reaching a plateau of 500mn standard cubic feet of gas per day. The partners expect it to supply about 2.8mn tonnes of LNG annually. Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi reviewed the pipeline project’s implementation with TotalEnergies on October 21, and Eni said on October 26 it had signed the main engineering, construction and drilling contracts, which Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides put at up to $1.8bn.

Separately, Egypt and US energy major Chevron (NYSE: CVX) initialled a fiscal framework agreement on October 20 for developing Cyprus’s Aphrodite field, estimated at 3.7 trillion cubic feet, and connecting it to Egyptian infrastructure. Unlike Cronos, Aphrodite, in which Chevron and Shell each hold 35% and Israel’s NewMed Energy (TASE: NWMD) 30%, has yet to reach a final investment decision, and its financial, commercial and regulatory arrangements are still being finalised.

MEES reported in October that disagreements over pipeline tariffs were complicating the project. Shell agreed in July to sell its stake to Hungary’s MOL Group (BUD: MOL) for up to $720mn, with completion expected in early 2027.

The dual import-export strategy is also evident at Egypt’s Idku LNG terminal. Shell (LSE: SHEL) and Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas planned in September to resume exports during October. An Egyptian official told Al Arabiya Business on November 2 that gas deliveries to the plant had resumed, with an export cargo to Europe being prepared for the end of November, subject to supplies remaining available after domestic demand is met.

Cairo is simultaneously trying to increase domestic supplies. Eni began start-up activities at the second phase of its Meleiha gas development in the Western Desert on October 20, adding a gas hub designed to handle up to 100mn standard cubic feet per day. Chevron also committed to a minimum investment of $88mn, including two exploration wells, in the deepwater Lotus block under an agreement with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) announced on October 5, while Dubai’s state-owned Dragon Oil said in October it was studying shallow-water gas opportunities with EGAS, without announcing any commitments. The upstream push follows Egypt’s clearance in June of arrears to foreign oil and gas partners, which had peaked at about $6.1bn in June 2024.

The latest exploration push gained momentum on November 1 when the authorities extended the submission deadline for six Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) blocks in the Gulf of Suez, Sinai and Western Desert to December 14 from November 11, following requests from prospective bidders, aligning it with the deadline for eight EGAS blocks in the Mediterranean, Nile Delta and North Sinai in the round launched on August 11.

Egypt is also strengthening its crude oil supply arrangements. It plans its first strategic crude reserve, comprising about 16mn barrels, 10mn from Libya and 6mn from Iraq, worth about $1.36bn and due to be completed by the end of 2026. On November 1, officials from Iraq, Jordan and Egypt discussed the proposed Basra–Haditha pipeline and potential export routes through the Red and Mediterranean Seas, although no implementation agreement was announced.

See IntelliNews: Egypt extends oil and gas exploration bidding deadline for six blocks to December 14
See IntelliNews: Eni advances Cyprus gas breakthrough as Egypt emerges as export gateway
See IntelliNews: Egypt and Chevron advance Aphrodite gas project with new fiscal agreement
See IntelliNews: Shell, Petronas to resume LNG exports from Egypt’s Idku plant in October
See IntelliNews: Egypt plans $1.36bn strategic crude stockpile with Libya, Iraq supplies