Australian LNG arrives in Egypt

Egypt received a cargo of liquefied natural gas from Australia after the exporter sent two shipments to the region in the past two years, signaling increasing demand.

The Woodside Rogers tanker arrived at Egypt’s Ain Sokhna terminal Thursday after loading at Australia’s Dampier port on May 12, according to ship-tracking data on Bloomberg. Middle East and Europe will absorb excess supply amid rising output from plants in Oceania, Andy Flower, a former BP Plc executive and now an independent consultant, said Thursday by phone.

“Middle East gas demand is often underestimated,” Leslie Palti-Guzman, a New York-based director of global gas at The Rapidan Group, said Thursday. “It will be a big part of the growth story for gas demand, and especially LNG as new markets in the region become importers.”

Vitol SA and RWE AG are starting to supply nations from Egypt to UAE at the same time as use in Northeast Asia, the biggest consuming region, is sliding. The start of import plants in Egypt and Jordan this year means regional imports will grow at the fastest pace anywhere in the world for the rest of this year, according to Energy Aspects Ltd., a consultant in London.