The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum Spokesperson, Hamdi Abdel Aziz, stated to Egypt Oil&Gas that Egypt is not in negotiations with Iran on crude oil imports. Abdel Aziz confirmed that the agreement with Saudi Aramco is still valid.

His comments came in response to reports that Egypt was considering Iran as an alternative oil source to meet market demand after Saudi Aramco halted October oil shipment.

Abdel Aziz added that the Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED) has stopped transporting Iranian oil for a while. Accordingly, a source with SUMED stated that the company investors, namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, had decided against transporting Iranian petroleum derivatives.

Abdel Aziz concluded that Egypt has contracted with several entities to import fuel shipments. Egypt Oil&Gas reported earlier that Egypt has received oil cargos, after Saudi Aramco informed that it would not be able to  provide October’s 700,000t shipment. At the time of the report, Abdel Aziz stated that the ministry aimed to meet local demands and maintain strategic reserves of petroleum derivatives.