CAIRO: Egypt has exported a cargo of 150,000 cubic metres of liquefied natural gas to Turkey, the petroleum ministry said on Wednesday.

The cargo, which was chartered by France's TotalEnergies, is the second in October.

In mid-October, Shell chartered a similar cargo of 155,000 cubic meters to Italy. The shipment represented an uncommon outbound move from Egypt, which in a span of a decade turned from a net gas importer into a net exporter then a net importer again in 2024 as output declined from aging fields and investment lags in new ones.

But in recent months, the North African nation has managed to sign several agreements with international oil and gas companies to increase exploration and has a plan for the drilling of 480 exploratory oil wells on the basis of investments totalling $5.7 billion over the next 5 years.

Between July and October, 18 new oil and gas discoveries have been made, producing 14,000 barrels of oil and condensates per day along with 44 million cubic feet of gas, according to the ministry's data.

(Reporting by Mohamed Ezz; Editing by Joe Bavier)