Egypt plans to issue a tender seeking up to 20 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cover demand for the first quarter of 2025, three trading sources told Reuters on Monday.

The most populous Arab country has returned to being a net importer of natural gas, buying more than 50 cargoes so far this year and abandoning plans to become a reliable supplier to Europe.

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) is expected to issue the tender to buy between 15 and 20 cargoes of LNG, the sources said

Like previous tenders this year, the new one will be issued on a 6-month deferred payment basis, the sources said without giving further details.

One of the sources said Egypt’s demand for LNG was expected to remain strong throughout next year.

All of the sources asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

Egypt’s demand for imported gas is driven by shrinking domestic supplies just when analysts expect its power consumption to increase by 39% over the next decade.

Domestic gas output fell to a six-year low in May and is expected to drop by a further 22.5% by the end of 2028, data from consultancy Energy Aspects found.

To help cope with the increase in imports, Egypt is expected to install a second floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) early next year, data analytics firm Kpler said last week.

Source: Reuters reported by Marwa Rashad and edited by Jan Harvey, Mark Potter and Barbara Lewis