Egypt imports more than 180,000 of butane on a monthly basis to cover citizens’ demands and the demands of sectors using butane, such as farms and bakeries, the Head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Abed Ezz El Regal, told Amwal Al Ghad.

The cost spent on importing butane exceeds $80m, although it cannot be 100% defined as the costs are changeable due to unstable global petroleum prices, he added.

Ezz El Regal further explained that the imported butane cargos cover the local demands because Egyptian state-owned and private-owned refineries produce a low amount of butane.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is adopting a strategy to reach petroleum products self-sufficiency by 2019 after adding and running a number of new wells to production, which will boost the countries output of crude oil and condensates.