The arrival of a regassification boat owned by Norway's HOG Energi has been delayed to December so that shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) may be received in its place. LNG will be imported over the coming years in order to provide for the needs of power stations according to Chief Executive of the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority Tarek El-Molla. The boat was slated to arrive at the end of August to Ain Sukhna as part of a five-year contract in which Egypt will receive 500m cubic feet of gas daily, according to El-Molla. He noted that gas holding company EGAS announced its winning a HOG tender to supply the floating station to receive imported shipments of LNG and convert them into their gaseous form. The Ministry of Petroleum is looking to contract an international company to temporarily supply a regassification boat throughout the month of September to receive the shipments of LNG necessary to fuel power stations throughout the coming summer months, El-Molla added. EGAS needs approximately $1bn from the Ministry of Finance to import the gas needed to power stations for the three months of summer. This will require funding the import of 17 shipments of LNG, renting the regassification boat and a platform on the Ain Sukhna Port, and arranging letters of guarantee, according to an EGAS official. He explained that an agreement was reached with Russia's Gazprom to provide seven shipments of LNG. France's EDF and Algeria's SONATRACH will provide five shipments each, and each shipment will hold 170,000 cubic metres of gas. One shipment of LNG meets the needs of power stations for six days, as 500m cubic feet is required daily, according to the official.
