Egyptian President, Abd El Fattah El Sisi, stated in an official statement that he expects recent discovered gas fields, including West delta, East delta and the second phase of Zohr field, would save Egypt about $3.6b yearly as they start producing.
Egypt wants to speed up gas production from newly-discovered fields, with an eye to halting imports by 2019. Once an energy exporter, it has become an importer due to domestic output failure to keep pace with rising demand in recent years, but the discovery of the 850 billion-cubic meter Zohr field in 2015 is expected to change that.
Moreover, Central Bank Governor, Tarek Amer, announced that Egypt will make a debt payment worth $750m to international oil companies (IOCs) on the 1st of June 2017.
In related news, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC)’s Head, Abed Ezz El Regal, stated during the meeting at the American Chamber of Commerce, that Egyptian arrears to international oil companies (IOCs) decreased from $3.6b to $3.4b by end of April 2017.
