Egypt has awarded petroleum tenders to a number of companies to supply Egypt with oil products in the month of January, until a five year deal with Saudi Arabia is concluded as expected in early 2016, Petroleum Minister, Tarek El Molla told Daily News Egypt.
The companies will supply benzene, diesel, butane, and mazut through the end of January. A tender for supply companies had been issued amid ongoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Although tenders are generally issued for three months, the time-frame was shortened in this case in anticipation of an agreement to be reached with Riyadh in the first four weeks of 2016, El Molla said. Egyptian and Saudi officials will meet on January 5th to discuss the final details of King Salman’s agreement to supply Egypt with petroleum products for five years.
El Molla elaborated that the deal was separate from another $1.4b three-month one signed with Saudi Aramco in August. Declining oil prices have reduced the value of the deal to $1.1b. As a part of the August agreement, Aramco was to supply 500,000 tons of diesel, 220,000 tons of mazut, and 150,000 tons of benzene monthly.
