Qatar to supply Egypt with up to 24 LNG shipments to meet 2026 summer demand

The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s minister for energy affairs and president and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi. QatarEnergy
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Updated 05 January 2026
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Qatar to supply Egypt with up to 24 LNG shipments to meet 2026 summer demand

RIYADH: Qatar is on track to supply Egypt with up to 24 liquefied natural gas cargo shipments amid a new deal to meet the African country’s 2026 summer demand.

This comes as QatarEnergy has agreed on a delivery arrangement with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. The firm has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Egypt to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, according to a statement.

This falls in line with Qatar signing long-term LNG supply agreements with a number of European and Asian countries, most notably Germany, France, and the Netherlands, as well as China and India. These deals significantly contribute to the stability of global energy supplies.

It also aligns with the framework of Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the national economy, sustainably invest in natural resources, and strengthen the country’s role as a global energy hub.

The agreement was signed in a special ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha by the company’s President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi — who also serves as the country’s minister for energy affairs — and Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi.

“We are pleased to further enhance our cooperation with Egypt. This agreement builds on our recent successful cooperation with Egypt, particularly with respect to the supply of LNG from QatarEnergy’s portfolio,” said Al-Kaabi.

He added: “This MoU further strengthens our bilateral relationship as we work jointly toward additional supplies of long-term LNG from QatarEnergy to meet Egypt’s growing demand for energy to fuel its robust economic and industrial growth.

“We look forward to collaborating with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and with all our partners in Egypt to further strengthen our cooperation and to support Egypt with its future LNG requirements.”

The statement further revealed that QatarEnergy and EGAS have also agreed to discuss long-term LNG supply arrangements from the firm to Egypt.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency in August, Vice Dean of Business School for Academic and Quality Assurance at Al-Bayt University in Jordan Omar Khlaif Gharaibeh said that Qatar is currently investing in one of the largest expansion projects in the history of the gas industry through the development of the North Field, which is the world’s largest natural gas deposit.

He noted that with this step, the production capacity of LNG will rise from 77 million tonnes per year to 126 million by 2027, an increase of more than 63 percent.


Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

Updated 26 January 2026
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Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.

With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.

The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion

With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market. 

Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.

Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.

Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.

On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.

He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.

Speaking to Arab News,  Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”

Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.

 “Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said. 

Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.

He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”