Egypt can once again become an energy exporter and “build on its existing role as one of the most important trading hubs in the region, ideally placed to link western and eastern markets,” Nick Butler writes for The Financial Times. “Egypt’s opportunity is that it finds itself at the crossroads of the emerging international trade in natural gas,” Butler writes. The potential collaboration on natural gas export between Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, and even potentially from Lebanon leaves Turkey as the loser regionally after having “destroyed its opportunity to provide an export route for gas from Cyprus by trying to link trade to a settlement of the island’s longstanding territorial division.” Butler insists that Egypt’s role will be vital in any major development, saying “in the Middle East nothing is ever simple and there will many a slip before the new pattern of trade is in place. But if the eastern Mediterranean is to be developed, Egypt’s role as the new regional trading hub looks indispensable.”

On a related note, EGAS is preparing to hold a tender for LNG shipments this month, EGAS sources tell Al Shorouk on Monday. The shipments are expected to cover Egypt’s LNG needs for 2Q2018, said the source. No word from the source on the number of LNG shipments or the date of the tender. Egypt had bought 12 LNG shipments for 1Q2018 — a significant drop from its usual rate as the country looks to become a net energy exporter by the end of the year. The state is expected to buy 80 shipments by the end of FY2017-18.