Segas arbitration award reopens possibility of Egypt gas exports

The $2bn award in favour of Unión Fenosa Gas (UFG) made by the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes at the end of August means that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the Segas terminal at Damietta could resume very soon. The Spanish company claimed that state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) breached its contract when it suspended gas supplies to the terminal in 2012. Unusually, the terminal was reliant on gas supplied by the national grid rather than production from a particular field.