Payment delays by the EGPC for crude oil and natural gas imports are legal, a source at the EGPC told Egypt Oil and Gas. This is because the maximum payment limit is 90 days, at an annual interest rate of 1%, added to the total value of the purchase of the petroleum products contracted.

The source stated that EGPC had agreed with suppliers on three possible repayment schemes. The first is paying for a number of shipments after receiving them in Egyptian ports. The second is the payment of the value after 45 days, due to the high dollar exchange rate. The third and final scheme is payment after 90 days in the case of a dollar deficit, especially as the suppliers refuse payment for their shipments in the local currency.

The source added that refining operations in Egyptian facilities would rise in 2016 to save billions of dollars originally spent on imports, bearing in mind that Egypt imports 50% of its fuel needs annually to resolve its energy crisis.