Egypt will achieve self-sufficiency in petroleum products in three years, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, has announced, according to Al Masry Al Youm.

Reaching self-sufficiency does not mean halting crude oil imports, El Molla said on the sidelines of the signing ceremony for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s fund agreement. The minister explained that Egypt will keep importing crude oil to be refined. A portion of the refined products will then be directed to cover the demands of the local market, while the surplus will be exported.

El Molla pointed out that Egypt’s natural gas output reached 5.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) due to the increase of Zohr field’s production.

Egyptian Minister of Investments and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, has signed a $200 million agreement with Eric Rasmussen, director of natural resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to provide finance to the Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC), Egypt Oil & Gas reported.