Egypt to fully pay off foreign oil companies’ debts in two years: minister

Egypt will fully pay off its debt to foreign oil companies within two years if it keeps making payments at the same rate, the country’s Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla told a local newspaper Tuesday.

“It is hard to determine a specific date but we imagine that if the current rate of payment continues we will be able to reach zero external debt within two years,” Molla told state-owned Al-Akhbar.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer in recent years, squeezed by declining production and growing consumption.

The North African country has pledged to eliminate the arrears by the end of June 2019 and not accumulate more, part of efforts to draw new foreign investment to an energy sector that is attracting interest following several major gas discoveries.

Source: Reuters