Egypt’s national oil companies (NOCs) will pay all debts owed to international partners before the end of 2019, oil minister Tarek El Molla announced, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

The minister also said that debts owed to IOCs have now fallen to $1.2 billion, beating 2010’s record low of $1.35 billion.

The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies published contrasting figures in June that Egyptian NOC debts to IOCs fell from $2.3 billion in October 2017 to $2 billion in Q2 2018. However, it is not clear how the report’s authors obtained their figures.

NOCs also owe EGP 130 billion to government ministries, El Molla added. A committee has been established in collaboration with the cabinet to facilitate debt repayments.