Egypt is in talks with U.S. companies and other foreign companies to purchase long-term volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in a shift from reliance on the more costly spot market to meet power demand amid a steep decline in domestic gas output, three sources said.

“The ministry (of Petroleum) is seeking three or four years of supply to hedge from sudden price increases. It is also seeking to include a flexibility clause as the government hopes it could maybe find gas sooner or doesn’t need that much gas,” the first industry source said.

Cairo is in talks mainly with U.S. companies and portfolio players who have U.S. offtake, given their flexibility compared with other producers, the other two trading sources said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mohamed Ezz in Cairo, Marwa Rashad and Ron Bousso in London; Editing by Jane Merriman)