The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, toured the SUMED and Sonker ports in Ain Sokhna, accompanied by senior officials from the petroleum sector. The visit focused on assessing the preparations to receive and dock the floating regasification units, as well as the pipelines connecting these units to the national gas network.

Badawi first inspected the terminal where the Høegh Gallion Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) is currently docked to ensure work progress and operations of unloading LNG and its conversion into a gaseous state in order to pump it to the national gas network.

Furthermore, the Minister inspected a second terminal in the SUMED port, which was developed in September 2024, to receive another regasification unit.

According to the ministry’s statement on Monday, the project is currently undergoing experimental testing operations in preparation for the unit’s arrival.

During his visit to the Sonker Port, Minister Badawi followed up on the horizontal drilling operations for the gas pipeline extensions linking the FSRU to the national network. He also inspected the construction of a 36-inch, 17-kilometer LNG import pipeline to support the regasification unit

It is worth noting that the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) has spearheaded the project’s technical studies, material procurement, and project management, while Petrojet executed the construction work.

To meet the growing demand for energy, especially during the summer months, Egypt has been involved in discussions with Germany, Turkey, and Cyprus to lease a handful of FSRUs to secure its need for natural gas. This aims to bridge the local gap between production and consumption, estimated at more than 1.5 billion cubic feet per day on average.