CAIRO: Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft signed an LNG Supply and Purchase agreement with Egypt’s state gas company EGAS during Sisi’s two-day visit to Russia, UPI.com reported Thursday.
UPI added that Rosneft commented on the signed deal saying that “it is marking its frontier entry into the global liquefied natural gas market.”
During its meeting with President abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Rosneft’s Chairman Igor Sechin expressed his company’s interest in increasing its investments in Egypt especially after the inauguration of the New Suez Canal, which is expected to facilitate quicker international maritime traffic.
Sisi met the Chairman of Sechin and a delegation of the company’s executives in Moscow, during Sisi’s two-day visit to Russia that began Aug. 25, according to a presidential press release Thursday.
Sechin noted that Rosneft started its operations in Egypt, mentioning that the company submitted a number of proposals to the ministry of petroleum; it is to send a delegation to Cairo to follow up on the proposals submitted.
The press release added that Sisi welcomed Rosneft to benefit from Egypt’s geographical location to store its petroleum products and facilitate its transport to different locations, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.
On July 7, Rosneft signed two initial deals with Egypt to supply petroleum products, benzene and bitumen, and 12 cargoes of liquefied natural gas to state gas company EGAS over two years, starting from the fourth quarter of 2015, Reuters reported.
The deals “will allow Rosneft to access the high growth potential Egyptian gas market and deepen broader cooperation between the two companies,” Reuters quoted Rosneft’s statement published on its website.