Egypt's arrears to foreign oil firms fall $900m

The total arrears that Egypt owed to foreign oil companies dropped to $900 million at the end of June, down from $1.2 billion a year earlier, the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla told Reuters yesterday.

The minister added that Egypt would pay the remaining dues “soon, God willing”, but did not set a specific date for payment.

The monthly bill of arrears paid to foreign companies amounts to $700 million,” he said.

Arrears have fallen by 25 per cent from their level at the end of the 2017/2018 fiscal year when they stood at $1.2 billion. In June 2017, Egypt owed $2.4 billion to foreign companies, a sum which has now fallen by 62.5 per cent.

Eni, BP, Shell and Edison have dominated Egypt’s oil and gas exploration and production activities in recent years.

Foreign oil companies’ arrears had accumulated after the January 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak to reach $6.3 billion in the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

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