Egypt has drafted a plan to deliver natural gas for the first time to the New Valley governorate in the Western Desert, Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said on Monday.

The announcement came following the signing of a cooperation protocol between New Valley’s Governor Mohamed El-Zamaloot and the heads of Egypt's Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and TAQA Arabia to deliver compressed natural gas (CNG) to the governorate.

The gas deliveries will gradually replace gas cylinders, El-Molla said, adding that CNG is an optimal solution to supply natural gas to the governorate, which is the country’s biggest in terms of land mass and the smallest in terms of population.

The project will be implemented using CNG feeding technology where terminals will deliver gas to 14,000 homes in the governorate’s Al-Kharga city during the first phase, with other areas to follow later.

Egypt announced in 2018 that it had achieved self-sufficiency in natural gas after the increase in production at recently discovered gas fields.

The country is looking to become a regional hub for liquefied natural gas trade, especially with its major discoveries in recent years including the mammoth offshore Zohr gas field.