Egypt aims to accelerate a range of energy projects with Libya, including gas pipeline links, according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Other projects include a scheme to refine Libyan crude in Egypt and an electricity interconnection.

Abdelatty’s comments came in a ministry statement after a meeting with Libya’s acting oil and gas minister, Khalifa Abdulsadek, in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

Egypt is currently trying to address an energy squeeze that has escalated ​due to elevated global liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices since the ​start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February of this year.

In his statement, Abdelatty calledfor ⁠cooperation on petroleum products and the completion of projects to refine Libyan oil in Egypt and re-export ​it.

He also said that Abdulsadek would ​visit ⁠Cairo soon to continue technical talks with Egypt’s petroleum and electricity ministers.

The ⁠statement ​did not provide ​details on costs or the status of the projects.

Plans for new gas pipeline links with Libya are just one of several ambitious gas pipeline plans Egypt is pursuing.

In October, the Italian oil and gas company Eni signed the main engineering, procurement, construction and drilling contracts for a project to export gas from reserves in Cyprus using a major pipeline to Egypt.

The project includes contracts with several companies that will develop infrastructure in both Egypt and Cyprus.

The awards included a $170m contract won by Egypt’s Petrojet for a new onshore gas pipeline in Egypt that will help transport gas to Egypt’s Damietta LNG facility.