A whistleblower who worked on the Damietta LNG expansion has handed hundreds of pages of test data and an audio recording to opposition MPs, saying safety results were edited to make failing equipment meet regulatory thresholds. If verified, the material would show state approval was granted despite evidence that key welds, corrosion protections and emergency shut‑off valves did not meet the certified standards used by international lenders.
The expansion — a joint venture led by private developer DeltaSea Energy — was fast‑tracked through permits this spring and construction crews began dredging and installing liquefaction tanks in June. The project is central to the government's plan to boost export capacity from Egypt's Mediterranean terminals and has backing from two European lenders that have since paused tranche payments, finance sources said.
What the whistleblower produced
Eva Kuvalis, who resigned last week as a compliance auditor for a DeltaSea subcontractor, said she copied internal lab results showing that seven of 12 weld samples and three valve batches failed tensile and pressure tests. She said separate files show those failures were crossed out and replaced with edited reports bearing regulator stamps. Kuvalis also handed MPs an audio clip in which, she says, a senior project director tells a ministry official: "We'll make the paperwork reflect what we need. Signatures will follow."
I watched engineers' reports become fiction on a screen.
Eva Kuvalis, former compliance auditor
Political reaction and a rapid probe
Helena V. Burian, an opposition MP who received the material, filed a motion yesterday demanding the parliamentary energy committee hold an emergency session on 28 September and summon the minister. "This is not a bureaucratic error — it looks like a deliberate override to secure profit and speed," Burian said. She called for construction to be suspended immediately until independent testing can be completed.
Unions and local port workers voiced alarm. Marcelo Zambrano, general secretary of the Damietta Port Workers' Association, said staff had been told to continue night shifts despite reports of incomplete safety checks. "We load and unload LNG tankers; if valves or welds fail, we will be first in harm's way," Zambrano said. Independent consultant Leon L. Pečnik, who reviewed the files at the union's request, told The Plausible Post that bench tests show tensile strength figures roughly 12% below the project's technical specifications.
Company and ministry replies
DeltaSea Energy issued a short statement saying it "takes safety seriously" and that an internal review had been opened after an irregularity was reported by subcontractors. A Ministry of Petroleum spokesperson, Faris al‑Masri, said the ministry had approved permits following inspections that met international practice and that "any administrative changes are clerical and do not affect safety." Two European lenders, identified by banking sources as Mediterranean Development Bank and Nordica Infrastructure Fund, confirmed they had paused disbursements pending the committee hearing.
Carla J. Pabón, director of the Cairo Coastal Conservation Forum, called for an immediate halt to operations in the construction zone, citing coastal wetlands near Damietta that could be disturbed by emergency response failure. "This isn't only about bankrolling and deadlines; there are migratory bird colonies and fisheries that will be exposed if the mitigation systems are substandard," Pabón said.
The parliamentary session next week is likely to summon ministry officials, DeltaSea executives and two independent technical assessors. MPs said they will have access to the full cache of files and the recording. Kuvalis said she is cooperating with investigators and asked for protection; she added she came forward because "no one signed their name to the losses that will be suffered if this proceeds unchecked." Authorities have not yet announced any personnel suspensions.
