Debts owed by Egyptian state-owned oil companies to international oil companies (IOCs) fell to $2 billion in Q2 2018, down from $2.3 billion in October 2017, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

This number has decreased markedly from a peak of $6.3 billion at the end of 2013. However, Oxford suggests that debts might increase due to payment conditions, price movements, and production growth.

The Egyptian government plans to repay all its debts by 2019 and not accumulate any new debt.  Despite recent oil price increases and the potential increase of natural gas production by 2019/20, the report said that eliminating all debts may be difficult due to the amount of money spent on subsidies.

“This objective may prove difficult to achieve given the fact that domestic energy prices remain subsidized for a large share of the volumes of hydrocarbon consumed,” the report stated.