Egypt and Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in liquefied natural gas sales and imports.

Egypt and Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at enhancing cooperation in liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales and imports. This agreement includes the conditions for delivering Qatari shipments to Egypt's Ain Sokhna and Damietta ports, as stated by Egypt's petroleum ministry on Sunday.

QatarEnergy announced that the deal involves supplying Cairo with up to 24 LNG cargoes for the upcoming summer. As the most populous country in the Arab world, Egypt has been working to boost its gas production and diversify its sources of imports to satisfy its increasing energy demands.

Production started to decline in late 2022, challenging Egypt's goal of becoming a regional energy hub and necessitating significant imports from Israel and Cyprus, in addition to expensive LNG shipments. In October last year, Egypt produced 3,635 million cubic meters of gas, which is a slight increase from 3,525 million cubic meters in September but lower than the 3,851 million cubic meters produced in October 2024, according to the Joint Organizations Data Initiative.

Despite this decline, Egypt's petroleum minister, Karim Badawi, stated last week that the country aims to achieve self-sufficiency in oil and gas, according to a cabinet announcement.