International Oil Companies (IOC) that were contracted through tenders to import petroleum derivatives to Egypt refused to extend payment period to 6 months instead of two, reported Al Mal News.

Some of the companies had already agreed before in a meeting with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to extend the period to maximum 120 day, while others had requested time to refer to their mother companies.

This comes in response to Egypt’s request to extended payment terms for November cargoes. Egypt Oil&Gas reported that EGPC had launched a tender to receive oil and gas imports during the first half of November. This came as a precautionary move from EGPC to cover Aramco’s November shipments in case of further delays. Accordinlgy, if Aramco resumes on-time cargos, EGPC will delay contracting backdated shipments until further notice.

It is noted that Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, stated that Egypt’s the 5-year deal with the Saudi oil company Aramco is still in effect, insisting that the company’s decision to suspend oil supplies to Egypt during October is not politically motivated.