Egypt seeks to borrow Türkiye’s first floating storage regasification unit, Ertugrul Gazi
Türkiye's first floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), Ertugrul Gazi, docked at the BOTAS Dortyol LNG Storage Facility off the coast of Hatay in southern Türkiye, on Feb. 2, 2022. (IHA Photo)
Egypt is reportedly in talks with the Turkish government and Türkiye’s state-owned energy company, BOTAS, to borrow Ertugrul Gazi, the country’s first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), the Turkish media reports.
Discussions are said to involve the possible deployment of one of Türkiye’s operational FSRUs to Egypt’s Ain Sukhna port, as the country plans to station a third FSRU there to meet its liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand between June and November.
If the negotiations yield positive results, Ertugrul Gazi —a 170,000-cubic-meter FSRU currently operating at the Dortyol LNG terminal in Hatay, Türkiye— could be sent to Egypt, according to business-focused dunya.com. Another potential candidate for the deployment is the 180,000-cubic-meter Vasant-1, which is stationed at Saros Bay.
Ertugrul Gazi: One of world’s largest FSRUs
FSRUs are specialized vessels designed to store LNG, convert it back into gas, and deliver it into the main transmission network under high pressure.
Ertugrul Gazi, measuring 295 meters (968 feet) in length, can store 170,000 cubic meters (6 million cubic feet) of LNG and boasts one of the world’s highest regasification capacities.
In September 2024, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi during his official visit to Ankara. Following their meeting at the Presidential Complex, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation.
The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration between the two countries in areas such as electricity infrastructure and trade, renewable energy, energy efficiency, hydrogen, and nuclear energy.
