CAIRO- Egypt will hold a purchase tender for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes during the second quarter of 2018, an official at state-buyer EGAS told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official said Egypt is seeking the cargoes for third-quarter delivery.

Egypt has said it will halt LNG imports by end-2018.

(Reporting by Ahmed Ismail; editing by Jason Neely) ((eric.knecht@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2394 8102; Reuters Messaging: eric.knecht.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))