Egypt Buys Fuel Oil Cargoes for Year-End Delivery as LNG Prices Hike

Egypt's state oil company bought six cargoes of high-sulphur fuel oil for delivery between November and December via a recent tender, several trading sources told Reuters, while monthly fuel oil imports more than tripled in October compared with the start of the year.

Egypt relies on domestic gas and, increasingly, imported liquefied natural gas for power, but it has ramped up fuel oil imports after the Iran war tightened global LNG markets and drove prices higher.

The six cargoes bought by Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation each comprise between 90,000 and 100,000 metric tons of high-sulphur fuel oil, according to a trading source familiar with the tender.

The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside of working hours.

Egypt's fuel oil imports totalled more than 640,000 tons in October, little changed from September and largely trending higher since April, according to shipping analytics firm Kpler. However, imports from January to October fell sharply to 3.94 million tons from 5.95 million tons in the same period of 2025, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the country's LNG imports have increased this year, soaring to a year-to-date high in July, though showing signs of softening since August.

The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry had budgeted about $10.1 billion for LNG in financial year 2026/27, which runs from July to June, but prices have risen beyond its estimates, an analyst told Reuters this week. By October 6, the ministry had already spent $5.8 billion, putting it on track to overrun the budget before demand usually rises in spring and summer, the analyst said.

The European benchmark natural gas contract hit its highest since December 2022 this week, as disruptions to Middle East LNG shipping kept supply tight.

LNG import cargoes to Egypt are set to rise to 184 this year from 152, according to an official document, and the country has been in talks with energy majors for multiyear supply deals as domestic gas production struggles to keep pace with rising demand.