Qatar gas swap deal collapses


For the past several months, Egypt’s domestic gas deficit has effectively been made up by five cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplied for free by Qatargas. These cargoes were paid for by the Qatari state and delivered to offtaker clients of the Idku LNG export terminal, enabling the authorities to keep more production for the domestic market. On 10 September, Qatargas confirmed to African Energy that no negotiations were under way for the delivery of further cargoes. Although it was embarrassed by the military’s removal of Mohammed Morsi, Qatar honoured the promise made in June to the Muslim Brotherhood administration to supply it with free gas over the summer. It delivered two cargoes to BG Group in August, which sent them to customers in Asia. These quantities replaced production that had been diverted from Idku to meet shortfalls in the domestic market. BG’s partner in Idku, GDF Suez, is understood to have redirected two cargoes to clients in Europe and is due a third.