An official source at the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) stated exclusively to Egypt Oil&Gas that mega petrochemical projects will start providing the local market with fuel by May 2017. He pointed out that these projects will be able to solve the deficit between natural gas consumption and production.

The source added that the projects will increase Egypt’s domestic production of petroleum products by 70%, highlighting that Sherif Ismail’s, the Prime Minister of Egypt, cabinet has set a special budget for these mega projects worth $2b.

The source highlighted that the country is ready at any time to resolve expected crises in the markets ,especially after El Molla’s success in finding quick alternatives to import fuel shipments to avoid expected crisis in the local market. In addition, he explained that the petrochemical projects are considered a strong incentive for international companies to inject foreign investments in Egypt. This comes in the light of the Ministry’s  plan to attract $30b over the next three years as well as the need to accelerate the implementation of drilling and exploration programs in the Mediterranean, Eastern and Western Desert, Nile Delta and Southern Egypt.

The source further mentioned that signing long term contracts to import petroleum products is the most appropriate solution to deal with the current financial condition and any potential problems , alike what happened with Saudi Aramco.