The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Egypt’s petroleum ministry and Qatar’s Ministry of State for Energy Affairs to enhance cooperation on trading and importing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The MoU aims to diversify LNG sources and expand cooperation to provide gas shipments for Egypt’s needs, while supporting efforts to increase local gas production.
Egypt has been negotiating long-term contracts with Qatar to secure its natural gas ahead of summer 2025, ensuring supplies for electricity generation and signalling a return to net gas exporter status by 2027, a major shift in the country’s energy outlook.
QatarEnergy already operates six offshore areas in the Mediterranean and plans to expand its operations over the next five years, including drilling several exploration wells, according to the statement.
Qatari investment in Egypt has been growing, with a financing package worth $7.5 billion pledged for projects in tourism, real estate, food security, and development projects along the North Coast. Qatar is also investing in agriculture, hospitality, and renewable energy.
QatarEnergy acquired a 27 percent stake in the North Cleopatra offshore exploration block in October 2025, a 40 percent stake in two new exploration blocks, and a 32 percent stake in the North El-Dabaa (H4) block offshore Egypt’s Mediterranean in 2024.
Egypt has allocated EGP 136.3 billion for electricity and renewable energy projects during FY2025/2026, per its new economic narrative, to bolster green transition and increase foreign currency inflows.
This aims to boost the sector’s output to EGP 655.6 billion by diversifying energy sources, expanding renewables, improving efficiency in traditional resources, and ensuring universal access.
The country is targeting 99.8 percent electricity coverage and a reduction in energy losses to 16.5 percent, following prolonged power cuts that affected daily life in 2023 and 2024. By 2025, electricity supply had stabilized in nearly all households during the summer.
Egypt’s LNG imports rose 188 percent year-on-year, reaching 7.8 million tons during the first 11 months of 2025, but are expected to decline by at least 30 percent in 2026 as domestic production increases and renewable energy grows.
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