The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is planning to supply a second gasification ship in September, while technical offers from companies are being studied after the tender for the ship was closed. EGAS Chairman Khaled Abdel Badie said in a statement to Daily News Egypt: "We hope that the gasification ship would be supplied in September. However, this depends on the companies' offers." He added that evaluation for the technical and financial offers for the tender will be completed this month. Abdel Badie said that EGAS has placed a timetable for the tender so that the gasification ship is supplied as soon as possible. A daily amount of 500,000 cubic feet would also be imported as additional fuel for the electricity stations. The gasification ship converts liquefied natural gas (LNG) into its gaseous state for it to be easily pumped to NATGAS. The companies that took part in the tender all had a contract time of five years. The second ship will receive roughly 42 ships of LNG annually. Each shipment will carry 140,000 to 170,000 cubic metres of gas, added the chairman. It is said that EGAS signed the final contract with Norwegian Hauge for the first floating ship to receive and store LNG shipments, and to convert it to its gaseous state. The gas would then be pumped to NATGAS. The contract with Hauge included providing more than 500m cubic feet of natural gas for five years, to meet the additional needs of the electricity stations. The contract was signed after the company won the global tender offered by EGAS last year. Hauge's competitors were from Malaysia, the US, and the Netherlands. EGAS agreed with the winning companies to supply LNG shipment every week to Ain Sokhna Port to meet the needs of electricity stations.
