Egypt has successfully decreased foreign partners’ arrears by more than 80% between 2012 and 2018, according to the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla, Amwal Al Ghad reported.

The minister’s remarks came during his visit to Lebanon to participate in the Middle East Energy and Geopolitics Forum.

The minister added in his speech that the Egyptian oil and gas sector is one of the main axes of the roadmap to achieve the country’s reform vision, as Egypt continues to take effective steps to liberalize natural gas trade, allowing the private sector to enter the market.

It was previously reported that the ministry aims to repay all of the international oil companies’ (IOCs) arrears by the end of 2019.