Egypt is making big moves to secure its energy supply as demand keeps rising and global gas market remains tight.

Egypt is in talks with major energy companies including Shell, TotalEnergies and BP to buy between 15 and 18 cargoes of liquefied natural gas per month for at least three years, cbinews.tv reports.

Three trading and industry sources familiar with the matter disclosed this to reporters.

The talks are coming at a time when Egypt's domestic gas production is struggling to keep pace with rising demand, and the global LNG market is still tight because of the Iran conflict, which has affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and increased competition among buyers trying to secure supply.

Two of the sources said talks are ongoing with companies including Shell, TotalEnergies, BP and commodities trader Hartree Partners.

One of the sources added that there is a strong will to work with Americans.

The duration of the deals could be three to five years, but nothing has been finalised yet.

Egypt's petroleum ministry, Shell, TotalEnergies and BP did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hartree Partners declined to comment.

While Egypt's economy has remained broadly stable despite the US-Israeli war with Iran, its energy import bill has ballooned.

Reports show Egypt's natural gas import bill nearly tripled, rising from about 560 million dollars before the conflict to roughly 1.65 billion dollars for the same volumes in March.

The new import deals could cost the most populous Arab country between 8 billion and 11 billion dollars annually, based on recent deals priced at a premium of about 1.5 dollars above TTF, the European gas price benchmark.

That is an additional challenge for the government, which is already dealing with high debt that eats up most of its budget, and a national currency that is barely holding since the regional conflict began.

Every dollar spent on LNG and fuel imports is money that is no longer available for budget spending, investment or reserves.

Aly Blakeway, head of Atlantic LNG at S&P Global Energy, said, "Egypt's ongoing negotiations for medium-term LNG supply, alongside the expansion of existing and planned pipeline gas agreements, reflect efforts to reduce exposure to volatile spot market procurement amid continued geopolitical uncertainty."

That uncertainty includes the Russia-Ukraine conflict and tensions involving the US and Iran, Blakeway added.

Egypt imported a total of 985 billion cubic feet of gas between July 2025 and June 2026, including from Israel and other LNG cargoes.

Its imports are estimated to reach 1,081 billion cubic feet between July 2026 and June 2027, according to official documents.

The higher imports reflect a continued decline in natural gas production, despite repeated pledges and clearing of foreign companies' arrears.

Monthly production averaged under 4.4 billion cubic feet per day in fiscal year 2025 to 2026, and is expected to drop further to 4.2 billion cubic feet per day in the current fiscal year.

#Egypt #LNG #Shell #TotalEnergies #BP #EnergyNews #GasMarket #MiddleEast #CBINewsTV