Egypt wears the East Med LNG crown

With production rising fast and other East Med countries looking for markets, Egypt is hoping that its LNG plants will soon come into their own

In the context of the Eastern Mediterranean region, mention of liquefied natural gas triggers only one thought: Egypt. The likes of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Lebanon may spend time considering the arguments for and against developing LNG facilities at some point in the future. But Egypt is in the comfortable and regionally unique position of having two plants that are operational. It has easy access to vast reserves of its own natural gas, onshore and offshore, and could soon start receiving extra volumes from some of its neighbours. Egypt's two LNG plants—at Idku, east of Alexandria, and Damietta, west of Port Said—are valuable assets. But for the past four years they've been victims of th