The EGPC is currently in negotiations with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for shipments of petroleum products and payment facilitations, Daily News Egypt reports. An official told the paper that the negotiations are to further secure Egypt’s petroleum needs, with the help of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE. A deal will be in addition to a five-year support agreement signed with Saudi Arabia in December.

The previous contract between EGPC and ADNOC, which guaranteed the supply of petroleum materials shipments to Egypt with payment facilities, ended in October 2015.  EGPC had previously entered into a $9b agreement with ADNOC to supply petroleum materials to Egypt for a year, but the contract was suspended in January 2016 after only five months. The value of the shipments received during this period was $2b. The official did not explain why the halt occurred, nor why negotiations have resumed.