A source from the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stated that the county aims to increase imports of  liquefied natural gas (LNG) and local gas production in a push to turn Egypt into a global energy market by leverage the country’s gas processing and distribution infrastructure, reported Al Borsa News.

During the first quarter of 2017, Egypt will increase LNG imports from 1.2bcf/d to 1.95bcf/d, after boosting local production from 4.04bcf/d to 4.5bcf/d. Furthermore, the ministry has contracted a third Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) to expand the country’s importation capacity in order to cover demand by the industrial and manufacturing sectors. The government will allow accredited investors to handle gas imports by granting them access to Egypt’s gas facilities for a certain fee.

In related news,   Egypt signed a deal with Cyprus that paves the way for further negotiations on a construction of a submarine pipeline to be operational from 2020 to 2022, through which the Mediterranean island would export natural gas from its offshore field Aphrodite to the North African nation.