Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has offered a second tender to import 500m cubic feet of gas for power plants daily, according to EGAS Chairman Khaled Abdel Badie. In exclusive statements made to Al-Borsa, Abdel Badie said EGAS will launch a tender soon to rent another gas vessel. He added that a second, Hoegh LNG Ltd-owned, liquid natural gas (LNG) vessel is expected to be received in Port Said to receive a further 500m cubic feet of gas per day, and will reach the Port of Ain Sukhna by next March. He stressed that the total 1bn cubic feet of gas that will be imported daily from both tenders will meet the needs of power plants only. "The company has received seven offers from Arab and foreign companies as well as a subsidiary company of the Egyptian petroleum sector in the current gas import tender," Abdel Badie said. "As soon as the technical and commercial overview is complete, the decision will be announced before the end of this month." He said that the contract for importing LNG shipments will be for two years subject to renewal, and will be signed with companies to supply around 40 shipments annually. He said the LNG price will be in accordance with international prices at the time of supply, adding that there will not be a specified price due to the fact that prices vary in markets. Abdel Badie confirmed that Algeria's SONATRACH and Russia's Gazprom did not apply for the current tender. However, both companies contracted to supply 14 shipments of LNG and because of this have not submitted offers for the tender. Abdel Badie has signed the final contract with Norway's Hoegh LNG Ltd Chairman Sveinung Støhle for the first LNG vessel to receive and store the LNG shipment. The vessels will also return the supplies to their gaseous states, and then pump them to the national network of natural gas. The contract includes renting the vessel for five years in order to provide quantities of natural gas in excess of 500 million cubic feet per day in order to fill part of additional requirements for power plants.
