Egypt's Damietta LNG Facility Idle on Lack of Feed Gas

The Damietta liquefied natural gas facility in Egypt is not operating due to a lack of feed gas as the country diverts export supplies to its domestic market, operator Union Fenosa Gas (UFG) said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The company added that it expects plant to come on-stream but that would depend on resumption of Egyptian supplies, the news agency said.

Egypt has two LNG plants, Damietta and Idku, for converting gas into liquid so it can be exported by ship, and a gas export pipeline.

An analyst quoted by Reuters said that plant was unlikely to restart this year as gas deficit means restoration of the LNG plant is unlikely this year.

Egyptian government has kept gas supplies for domestic market as the country is facing fuel shortage. Rising energy demand combined with falling output from domestic gas fields saw Egyptian LNG exports in 2012 decline to 4.7 million tonnes, compared with a combined export capacity at Damietta and Idku of 12.2 million tonnes, Reuters said.

Output from Egypt's other LNG plant at Idku also dropped this year, Reuters said citing operator BG Group’s annual financial results.