President Hosni Mubarak, accompanied by Dr. Ahmed Nazif, the Prime Minister and Eng. Sameh Fahmy Minister of Petroleum, inaugurated on Monday 30 May, 2005 the first LNG facility in Egypt located in Damietta in Mubarak Complex for Natural Gas and Petrochemicals.

Four and half years ago, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has signed a contract with Union Fenosa International to develop this liquefaction plant. Great efforts have been exerted since then. In 2001, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Corporation (EGAS) was established to be responsible for developing, managing and operating all natural gas activities in Egypt. EGAS has managed to establish a profound partnership with Union Fenosa Gas and concerted coordination resulting in a remarkable success in implementing the first LNG export facility in Damietta.

It is a fact that the first shipping of LNG from this Damietta plant has successfully arrived in the terminal re-gasification plant of Palos in the south of Spain, on January 27 at the beginning of this year 2005. On the day of the inauguration, the ship number 16 was loaded. This huge engineering project, the biggest LNG train around the world, has been completed in only thirty-seven months, below international references for this kind of installations.

Mr. Elias Velasco, Union Fenosa Gas Chairman, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Egyptian Government, and especially to H.E. President Hosny Mubarak and to H.E. Eng. Sameh Fahmy Minister of Petroleum for their promotion of this project from the very start and for the support, trust, and full and valuable co-operation that the project have been receiving during the construction phase.

This facility is owned and operated by SEGAS, 80% owned by Union Fenosa GAS and 20% by EGAS and EGPC. A very important element of the project is the most of 8000 workers involved in the construction of the Plant, more than 97% are Egyptians. Now, more than the 85% of the operation people of the Damietta LNG Plant are Egyptian engineers.