Egypt spends over $1.5 billion monthly to secure local demand for petroleum products, said Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla, according to Reuters.
The $1.5 billion are spent on importing petroleum products and on buying the production shares of international oil companies (IOCs).
Due to the increase in global oil prices, Egypt pays between $700 million and $800 million to buy IOCs production shares, which they get through their joint ventures in the oil and gas sector, El Molla pointed out.