Egypt to Import Algerian Gas

Egypt has agreed to import natural gas from Algeria, media reports said citing Prime Minister Hesham Qandil.

"We have reached a general agreement with the Algerian side to import gas from Algeria but the amount is still under negotiation," Prime Minister Hisham Kandil told reporters, Reuters said.

The decision has been made to meet domestic demand for gas and also to meet Egypt’s export obligations. The North African nation may also import gas from Qatar.

Egypt has two liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and a pipeline to export gas, but energy industry sources say the government has been diverting some gas contracted for export to the domestic market, which suffered fuel shortages and electricity cuts in the summer, the newswire said.