Egyptian LNG Terminal

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Egyptian LNG Terminal, also known as ELNG Terminal and Idku Terminal, is an operating LNG terminal in Beheira, Egypt.

Location

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Project Details

• Operator: Egyptian LNG
• Owner: Egyptian LNG
• Parent:
  • T1: Shell 35.5%, Petronas 35.5%, EGPC 12%, EGAS 12%, TotalEnergies 5%
  • T2: Shell 38%, Petronas 35.5%, EGPC 12%, EGAS 12%, TotalEnergies 5%
• Location: Idku, Beheira, Egypt
• Coordinates: 31.3490, 30.31864 (exact)
• Cost: 2 billion USD
• Capacity: 7.2 mtpa (3.6 mtpa per train)
• Status: Operating
• Type: Export
• Trains: 2
• Start Year: 2005

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Egyptian LNG Terminal (ELNG Terminal) is an LNG terminal in Beheira, Egypt on the Mediterranean coast. The facility is also called Idku LNG. It is comprised of two production trains supplied by the Simian Sienna Gas Field and Sapphire Gas Field. The terminal was designed to allow for easy expansion of up to four more production trains.

Egypt's domestic market had diverted natural gas feedstock from export plants. Operations at the ELNG terminal greatly decreased in 2014. Political upheaval caused power shortages and forced Egypt to save gas for is own use. ELNG temporarily ceased exports in 2015, but was not formally decommissioned.

In 2015 Egypt became a net LNG importer. The International Gas Union predicted new gas drilling in the Zohr gas field of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Egypt's West Nile Delta, could restore Egypt's status as a net gas exporter by 2021.

Egypt started exporting limited amounts of LNG from the Egyptian LNG terminal in September 2016 to keep equipment running. It planned to run the facility at full capacity for export in 2020 or 2021.

According to the International Gas Union’s World LNG 2017 report, Egypt was the 18th largest LNG exporter by share between 2015 and 2016.

As a result of record low LNG prices fueled by COVID-19, the terminal was shut in with export cargoes not expected to start up again until mid-July 2020.

In February 2023, LNG Prime reported that Shell and Energean were studying the concept of building a carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant for the facility.

In July 2023, however, the Egypt LNG Terminal halted production because of an increased domestic demand for gas in Egypt. Production at the Damietta facility was also temporarily halted in May of that same year. In October 2023, production at the Egypt LNG Terminal resumed, but was again halted in May of 2024 due to another seasonal uptick in domestic demand during the summer months in Egypt. Egypt has plans to import LNG shipments from July to October 2024 to keep up with the demand.

Israel/Cyprus Gas Import

Forbes reported in November 2015 that if Egypt joined Cyrus and Israel in a venture to import gas to Egypt, the three countries would have enough infrastructure to form a regional Eastern Mediterranean gas hub.

Bloomberg reported in 2016 that Israeli companies had been negotiating to build an undersea pipeline from Israel's Leviathan field to Shell's Egyptian LNG Terminal Idku. Israel’s reconciliation agreement with Turkey created the possibility that Israel could build the pipeline north to Turkey’s state-owned BOTAŞ Petroleum Pipeline Corporation, or build pipelines to both Egypt's LNG and Turkey. Leviathan development partners, Israeli's company Delek Group and U.S. partner Noble Energy, and Israel’s energy minister claimed there was enough gas to do both projects. On the other hand, a senior fellow at DC's Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center said there was likely not enough gas for both projects.

Leviathan's partners claimed the field held 620 billion cubic meters of gas. The Israel government claimed the estimate was 20 percent less.

Bloomberg reported in August 2017 that Shell was considering buying Israeli gas from the Leviathan field and Cypriot gas from the Aphrodite field for the Egyptian LNG Terminal. Shell owns 35% of the Aphrodite field and was considering buying about 5 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Leviathan field. Egypt's underdeveloped Zohr field, discovered in 2015, is geographically close to Aphrodite and Leviathan. This would ideally allow the three fields to coordinate their development.