For the first time in its history, Russian energy company Rosneft said Friday it delivered a shipment of liquefied natural gas to an Egyptian customer.

A trading arm of Rosneft said it shipped a cargo of LNG to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. under the terms of an agreement signed in August.

"The delivered cargo of LNG is the first one in Rosneft's operational history," the Russian company said in a statement.

Egypt is a global leader in terms of natural gas consumption and relies currently on imports to meet domestic demand. Since its 2011 revolution, Egypt has suffered energy shortages. Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 said he was interested in exploring a natural gas relationship with Russia. At the time, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Gazprom was considering a swap plan so Egypt could meet contractual obligations.

The Kremlin said bilateral trade has increased by more than 75 percent since 2014. During a visit to Cairo last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said both sides were eager to continue the strong economic momentum.

Rosneft said the LNG market is "transformational" and opens up "extensive prospects" for its long-term potential for growth.

Russia's economy is hobbled by dual strains of economic sanctions related to crises in Ukraine and the low price of crude oil. LNG, meanwhile, offers maneuverability outside the geopolitical constraints associated with conventional pipeline arteries.

Rosneft said earlier this year that its investments for the year would be about 30 percent higher than in 2015 at around $14.6 billion.