Egypt’s imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States fell sharply in May 2026, dropping to approximately 300,000 metric tons — roughly half the country’s typical monthly intake of around 600,000 metric tons — as planned maintenance at major American LNG export terminals temporarily reduced available supply.
The decline was part of a broader dip in US LNG exports, which fell to 10.2 million metric tons in May, the lowest monthly total recorded so far this year excluding February, according to Reuters. Operators at several US export facilities carried out seasonal spring maintenance that had been deferred earlier in the year to capture strong market demand conditions.
The temporary supply reduction comes at a delicate time for Egypt, which has been significantly ramping up LNG imports to meet surging domestic gas demand, particularly during the peak summer months. According to data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative, Egypt imported nearly 2.35 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in the first quarter of 2026, a 36 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Industry sources indicate that both import volumes and values continued to climb through April and beyond, as Cairo moved to secure cargoes in a tight global market.
The United States remains Egypt’s primary LNG supplier and its largest energy investor overall, with US energy investment into Egypt reaching $3.3 billion during fiscal year 2025/26. In April, the Board of Directors of the US Export-Import Bank authorised more than $2 billion in export credit insurance to support American LNG shipments to Egypt — financing designed to facilitate deliveries in 2026 and 2027 under agreements between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and US-based energy trading firm Hartree Partners.
The support underscores the strategic dimension of the US-Egypt energy relationship and suggests that despite the May disruption, American LNG will remain a cornerstone of Egypt’s gas supply portfolio for the foreseeable future.
Source: egyptoil-gas.com