Egypt to import $3.55 bn worth of LNG in 2015-16

gypt will import around $3.55 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the 2015-16 financial year, an official at state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) said on Tuesday.

Egypt moved closer to easing its chronic power shortages this month with the arrival of a floating import terminal marking the start of imports of super-cooled LNG.

Egypt has exported LNG in the past, but the new terminal will allow the country to begin imports.

"The cost of the LNG that will be imported during 2015-16 will be around $3.55 billion," an EGPC official told Reuters by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Egyptian financial year starts in July.

The EGAS state gas board has agreed to import 35 LNG cargoes from Russia's Gazprom over five years.

This year and next it has agreed to take 33 cargoes from Trafigura, 9 from Vitol, 7 from Noble and 6 from Algeria's Sonatrach.