Egyptian Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail, urged the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to finalize the oil and gas development projects as soon as possible in order to increase the local production of crude oil and gas, and reduce foreign currency expenditure, reported Daily News Egypt.

Ismail stated, during his visit to the Ministry of Petroleum, that Egypt will reach natural gas self-sufficiency by the end of 2019. He pointed out the importance of boosting exploration and research works during the upcoming period.

The Prime Minister further explained the importance of delivering natural gas to households in order to improve the services offered to citizens and to secure the necessary amount of butane, 50% of which is imported.

Ismail added that Egypt aims to turn Egypt into a regional hub for the trade of petroleum and gas. It also aims to boost the production of crude oil and natural gas, and to develop the country’s mineral wealth. In addition, Egypt plans to increase the efficiency of infrastructure, develop ports, and offer the necessary facilitations for this vital sector.

Meanwhile, Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, stated that the ministry executed nine projects to develop gas and oil fields with $1.8b investments with a rate of 9,000b/d of condensates and more than 1bcf/d of gas.