The Egyptian government’s total dues owed to foreign oil companies reached US$ 3 billion by the end of 2014, Khaled Abd El Badee – Chairman of state-run Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said.
He added the Egyptian government had recently paid US$ 2.1 billion of the dues, referring to a clear strategy being set to overcome the challenges blocking the oil industry in Egypt. Those challenges are represented in the aggravated gap between the quantity of oil products estimated at 22 million tonnes versus the actual market needs amounting to 35 million tonnes daily.
In his keynote speech at the 9th session of the Egypt-Japan Business Council, the Egyptian official said the government’s strategy depends on filling the gap and increasing the in trade oil quantities by importing daily gas shipments amounting to 500 million cubic metres by next March.
Moreover, Abd El Badee clarified that the Egyptian oil sector is capable of attracting more foreign investments during the upcoming period in the light of the Oil Ministry’s success in signing around 156 new oil and gas exploration agreements recently.
