The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum will receive $200m of a recently agreed $1b World Bank loan, according to an EGPC official who spoke to Al Mal News.  The money will go to repay $2.8b in debts that the ministry owes to foreign operators.

The report comes amid conflicting reports about the Petroleum Ministry and World Bank loans to Egypt. Earlier in December, Al Mal reported that the Petroleum Minister would receive $500m of the $3b loan the World Bank had granted Egypt, which Sahar Nasr, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, denied. The minister stated that the loans were earmarked for national projects and would not go towards Egypt’s energy industry.