The Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Mohamed El Masry  stated that Egypt has reached an agreement to import between 43 and 45 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman, Russia, and France from March through to the end of 2017. The agreements include terms that allow for the payment within the next six months , Al Arabiya reported.

He added that Egypt will become a gas exporter once it reaches self-sufficiency expected during 2019. The average Egyptian production of natural gas was about 4bcf/d in the financial year 2015/2016 and it is estimated to reach 5bcf/d during the current financial year 2016/2017, according to Reuters.

In December 2016, the Egyptian government had proposed a new draft law to the parliament to open natural gas sector to private investors. The proposed draft law would enable private actors to contribute to natural gas sector’s activities including shipping, distribution, sale, and marketing. The draft law further proposed establishing a new regulatory body that would supervise the liberalization of the Egyptian natural gas sector.