Reuters: Egypt Nears Deal to Import LNG from Algeria

Egypt expects to agree a deal to import liquified natural gas from Algeria as early as this week, ministry sources said on Monday, as the country seeks to ease a chronic energy shortage.

The agreement for six Algerian cargoes of 145,000 cubic metres of LNG each could be signed on Monday or Tuesday during Minister Sherif Ismail's visit to Algiers, a ministry source told Reuters.

Egypt struck a deal in November with Norway's Hoegh LNG for a floating storage and regasification unit that will allow the country to begin importing LNG, a natural gas chilled to minus 162 degrees Celsius into a liquid state.

After repeated delays, it is expected to launch at the end of March. MORE