CAIRO - 25 October 2018: Egypt’s petroleum sector will issue its international tender for oil and gas exploration in the Red Sea before the end of 2018 as soon as the data of the first phase of the seismic research project is completed, according to Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla.
The minister affirmed that the sector succeeded in overcoming all the crises and challenges it faced during the period of 2011-2012, which was a stage of instability. The sector was able in 2013 and 2014 to restore stability.
He added that the sector completed its reforms during the period from 2015 to 2018, when the strategy adopted proactive events and planning to prevent crises that may occur and succeeded in securing all the needs of the electricity sector, as well as the industry and domestic uses of gas and petroleum products.
Molla pointed out that the bill for the supply of petroleum products to the domestic market rose to more than $1.5 billion per month due to the rise in world oil prices during the last period.
He noted that in one year, four major Egyptian gas fields in the Mediterranean were put on the production map of the fields of Zohr, Atoll, Norus and North Alexandria, with an investment of about $27.2 billion and a total production of 6.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, which contributed to achieving self-sufficiency of natural gas.
The minister added that the oil sector is currently implementing an ambitious program to develop and modernize the oil sector to meet the challenges of the coming period. It also focuses on achieving the added value and optimal economic utilization of Egypt's natural resources through manufacturing industries and moving forward to turn Egypt into a regional center for trading in gas and oil.
This came during Molla’s speech at the seminar organized by the Egyptian-Canadian Business Council and the Egyptian Business Council, entitled "Egypt on the global map of oil and gas" in the presence of Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad, and a number of former ministers, ambassadors and heads of Egyptian and foreign oil companies.
Molla added that the strategy of the sector has three main axes: increasing and diversifying energy supply and demand management as well as achieving financial sustainability by addressing debt arrears, reforming the subsidy system and dealing with internal debt, and improving sector management and structural reforms and encouraging private sector investments through supporting legislation; such as the Gas Market Regulatory Act.
He also referred to the rate of delivery of natural gas to homes which is currently accelerated within the national project adopted by the state to deliver gas to all parts of Egypt; all this comes within the ministry's plan to develop services.
The minister said that the return of developing and modernizing the oil sector is to raise the efficiency of performance, reduce the cost of production, increase economic growth through attracting investments, contribute to increase national income and improve the fiscal deficit as well as the provision of hard currency through increased foreign exchange flows and revenues, increase oil and gas production rates, and reduce the import bill, besides ensuring the sustainability of energy sources to meet the country's needs of petroleum and natural gas.
He also added that Egypt succeeded in reducing the entitlements of foreign partners to less than one third to reach $1.2 billion, which is the lowest value of the entitlements of partners since June 2010; it is intended to continue to pay the dues in full gradually, regularly paying the foreign partners the value of purchasing their share of oil and gas.
CAIRO - 5 July 2018: Egypt's debts to foreign oil companies declined to $1.2 billion by the end of June 2018, recording their lowest value since 2010, according to Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla. The minister added in a press conference that debts to foreign companies are set to be fully paid by the end of 2019, hoping to pay them sooner.
Egypt stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the fourth quarter of 2018 by adding 1.6 million cubic feet to its production from its latest gas discoveries, including West Delta’s Taurus and Libra fields, as well as the Atoll and Zohr gas fields.
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