A press release to Egypt Oil&Gas stated that the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, announced that the Egyptian oil and gas sector has paid total $2.2b to international oil companies (IOCs) in the past 3 weeks. Accordingly, the Egyptian arrears for IOCs decreased to $2.3b, which is the lowest amount of arrears Egypt has since 2013 when the Egyptian debts were $6.3m.

This comes as the Egyptian ministry is working on decreasing the arrears for IOCs to encourage foreign companies to increase investments and exploration work in the country. The ministry aims to boost development work and increase production to meet local market’s demands of petroleum and natural gas.

El Molla pointed out that paying the debts shows that the Ministry of Petroleum is committed to the payment schedule and reflects Egypt’s credibility in its dealings with IOCs.

In related news, the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Assistant Deputy Governor, Rami Aboul Naga, stated that Egypt paid total $1.5b in arrears to international oil companies (IOCs) in May and June.