The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources plans to boost the country’s daily production of crude oil and condensates to 36 million tons which is equivalent to 705,000 barrels during fiscal year 2017/2018, as it plans to add new discoveries to production, reported Amwal Al Ghad.

The government’s strategy for 2017/2018 includes producing around 3.09 million tons of crude oil, and 3.95 million tons of condensates, which will cover most of the consumption during the new fiscal year.

Crude oil decline in production during the past years is due to a drop in the production of some fields because of the decrease of atmospheric pressure, the increase of sand movement and the increase of water produced from the wells, which is caused by the aging reservoir. The low production is also caused by the delayed output of some development projects.

Egypt is projected to achieve self-sufficiency by 2019, as stated by Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, which is expected to help in covering the local market’s fuel demands and decrease imports to secure foreign currency.