Egypt has exported its second liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment for this year, after the first one was shipped to India in late March.

The 60,000 metric tons cargo which departed from Egypt on Saturday is headed for Niigata, Japan to be received by Tohoku Electric Power Company in July under a short term contract.

This is the first time Japan is importing LNG from Egypt since it stopped in 2014.

Egypt was once a net LNG exporter from 2005 until 2014 before becoming one of the world’s newest major LNG importers as a result of its economic instability. The country has now recommenced the exportation of the fuel again.

“If Egypt could return to its previous position as a major exporter, and that is a big and longer-term ‘if’, it would make a material difference to the world’s future supply-demand balance,” James Taverner, a Tokyo-based analyst for IHS Inc. told Egypt Oil and Gas Portal.

However, the State-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has said that the country intends to import between 110 and 120 cargos of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2017.

According to trade sources, EGAS acquired 10 cargoes of LNG from Trafigura and one cargo from PetroChina at the beginning of June as the Egypt depends on LNG to generate electricity.

A report released by Bloomberg predicts that, Egypt’s LNG import demand is projected to rise this year and drop again in 2018. The country is expected to finally become independent again from 2022.

Anita Fatunji