Egypt is seeking to accelerate energy projects with Libya, including gas pipeline links, refining Libyan crude in Egypt and an electricity interconnection, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said after talks in Tripoli on Saturday 7 November, Reuters reported.

Abdelatty met Libya's acting oil and gas minister, Khalifa Abdulsadek, at the reopened Egyptian embassy in Tripoli. Abdulsadek said Libya would keep implementing existing projects and would visit Cairo soon for technical talks with Egypt's petroleum and electricity ministers, Libya Review reported.

Why Cairo is pushing now

Egypt has faced energy pressure from insufficient domestic gas production and higher global liquefied natural gas prices since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The projects on the table include a gas pipeline linking Libya to Egypt, where liquefaction plants at Idku and Damietta could process the gas, refining Libyan crude in Egyptian facilities for re-export, rehabilitating Libya's own refineries and restoring electricity links.

The push builds on earlier steps: in January, Egypt's PETROJET and Libya's National Oil Corporation signed a cooperation memorandum on oil, gas and mining, and in July the two prime ministers agreed to expand cooperation on gas, oil exploration, refining and power links. The ministry statement gave no costs or current status for the projects.