Shell pays last loan installment for LNG plant in Beheira

CAIRO - 12 July 2017: Royal Dutch Shell paid the last loan installment for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Beheira’s Idku city, Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla said Wednesday.

In a meeting with Shell, Molla said the liquefaction plant will generate big revenues for the Egyptian economy.

The $2 billion loan was originally obtained by British Gas (BG) in 2005 but operations at the plant were hampered due to accumulation of debts on the British company.

Operations at Idku plant resumed once again in September 2016 after Shell acquired BG in late 2015.

Shell resumed exports from the plant, at 250 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Idku LNG plant had started operations in 2005 with $2 billion in investments, funded by the European Investment Bank and 42 banks.

It was built in cooperation with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), state-owned Petronas, BG and France’s Engie.

The plant, established to export gas, includes an exporting port that accommodates 165,000 cubic meters of gas and two LNG warehouses with a storage capacity of 140,000 each.

Idku is scheduled to operate at full capacity by fiscal year 2020/2021, Molla said in previous statements.