During a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Badawi said foreign partners’ dues had fallen from $6.1 billion on June 30, 2024, to $1.3 billion in March, then to $714 million in April, reaching $440 million in May.
The Egyptian government plans to fully clear outstanding dues owed to foreign oil companies operating in the local market by June 10, earlier than previously scheduled, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi said.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Badawi said foreign partners’ dues had fallen from $6.1 billion on June 30, 2024, to $1.3 billion in March, then to $714 million in April, reaching $440 million in May.
Badawi added that the government is set to complete the settlement of all outstanding payments and bring dues down to zero by June 10, 2026, ahead of the earlier target date of June 30.
The minister also highlighted the start of drilling operations for a new well at the Nargis natural gas field in the Mediterranean. He said the project would help increase Egypt’s local natural gas production and reduce the import bill, supporting the country’s energy security.
Badawi added that Shell and Chevron have announced plans to drill a new well named VeloX in the West Mediterranean. This comes alongside recent memoranda of understanding signed at the Cabinet headquarters between EGAS and TotalEnergies to establish a strategic partnership to explore petroleum potential in an offshore area in the West Mediterranean.
During the meeting, the petroleum minister reviewed updates on seismic survey activities carried out between January and May, covering more than 5,600 kilometers and around 100,000 square kilometers.
Badawi also reviewed several new discoveries, including a discovery by Agiba Petroleum in the Western Desert. The company made a new gas and crude oil discovery through the Bustan South-1 exploratory well, marking its largest discovery in the past 15 years.
The new discovery is expected to provide around 330 billion cubic feet of natural gas, in addition to nearly 10 million barrels of condensates and crude oil, with total reserves estimated at around 70 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The meeting also discussed ongoing preparations for the Egypt Mining Forum, scheduled to take place at the end of September.
