Egypt’s plan to become a regional energy hub was inspired by the successes of the Singapore and Rotterdam, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, said, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

The combination of Egypt’s location and the Suez Canal gives the country an opportunity to become an energy hub, the minister stated.

To bolster his point, the minister highlighted Egypt’s existing natural gas and oil infrastructure. He particularly noted the Sumed pipeline, Egypt’s eight refineries, and multiple ports on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Suez. He further emphasized the country’s natural gas infrastructure, pointing to the natural gas grid, twenty-eight gas-treatment plants, two natural gas liquefaction complexes, and two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs).

The comments were made during a conference organized by Al Ahram and patronized by the Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail.