Egypt disburses $1.2B to foreign oil companies late dues

The Egyptian government expedited payment of $1.2 billion to foreign oil companies last week, shifting from the scheduled October payment, as disclosed by three government sources to Asharq Bloomberg.

By June's close, Egypt had disbursed $1.3 billion to foreign oil and gas entities within its borders. A plan was devised to distribute $3.2 billion owed in three installments throughout the current fiscal year, as shared by a government official with Asharq Bloomberg.

The unpaid dues to foreign oil and gas exploration companies under the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation amounted to roughly $4.5 billion, as per an IMF report from last March.

Egypt is striving to boost natural gas production in response to a decline to 4.6 billion cubic feet per day. With daily consumption at 6.2 billion cubic feet, Egypt's current daily production falls short.

The government's target is to elevate natural gas output to approximately 5 billion cubic feet per day by year-end, aligning with efforts to meet the country's daily gas requirements.