Egypt’s dues to Shell inch up

CAIRO, December 26, 2016 – The Ministry of Petroleum’s arrears of debt to Shell have increased by USD 50 million over the past two month, sources claimed on Monday.

Citing returns on the company’s share of gas produced from the Rashid and Borollos concession areas, the people familiar with the matter said the ministry’s dues now stand at USD 1.35 billion, equivalent to 37.5% of the government’s total debts with its foreign partners. They also told Daily News Egypt that Shell will hold off on executing Borollos’ development phase 9B until it is fully compensated.

In related news, Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla and his Iraqi counterpart, Jabar Al Luaibi, on Friday agreed to set up a joint ministerial entity to co-ordinate joint efforts in the field of oil and gas. The day before, El Molla said Egypt was looking to close a crude import deal with Iraq in the first quarter of 2017. The country is targeting to purchase between 1 million and 2 million bopd following the collapse of its arrangement with Saudi Arabia.

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