Egypt considers extending Iraqi crude import contract

CAIRO – 29 August 2017: The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) is reportedly considering the extension of an agreement with Iraq to import crude for one more year.

Egypt is still negotiating that option with the Iraqi side, an official source, requested to remain anonymous, told local newspaper Al Shorouk Monday.

Under an agreement reached in April in Baghdad, 12 million barrels of oil shipments are to be delivered to Egypt from the state oil marketing company SOMO.

All shipments were expected to be received before the end of 2017. The agreement, which has a 90-day grace period, is subject to renewal.

To date, Egypt received four Iraqi shipments with a total volume of eight million barrels, each shipment carrying two million barrels, according to the source.

Due to a shortfall in oil and natural gas production, Egypt has been importing crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from several sources in the past few years.

To secure market needs, Egypt imports crude from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) under a three-year agreement to supply 1.5 million tons per year, which are refined in Egyptian refineries.