Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced that Egypt aims to achieve self-sufficiency in gasoline and diesel by 2023, through an integrated plan that includes a number of projects being implemented, in a way that will enable it to meet all the needs of the local market.
This came during the visit of the delegation of the Parliament's Energy and Environment Committee, headed by Representative Hossam Awadallah, to inspect the MIDOR company, in the presence of Alexandria Governor Mohamed El-Sharif, and Abed Ezz El Regal, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation(EGPC).
El-Molla said that since 2015, there have been no crises or queues in petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel, as there is a response from petroleum complexes to local demand and consumption, adding that there are expansions in factories and other petroleum complexes.
In addition, Assiut oil refinery in Egypt is undergoing an expansion to meet the growing demand for petroleum products in Upper Egypt, scheduled for completion in 2022. It is expected that by 2023, Egypt's oil production will be local and self-sufficient.
He added that the MIDOR refinery development project helps to produce 40% of the market needs of gasoline and diesel in the finest quality, and according to international standards, noting that the product with this quality can be exported if there is a surplus.
He referred to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directives to develop petroleum products and the energy sector as a leading sector for development, pointing out that production of 2.5 million tons of diesel has been reached at MIDOR despite the pandemic, praising the Egyptian competencies of engineers and technicians.
El-Molla pointed that removing fuel subsidy and setting a price regulation led to a reduction in the level of consumption and an increase in awareness among citizens, leading to an increase in resources, which helped improve the sector's infrastructure, especially the development of refineries and the product quality.
Gasoline Prices
El-Molla stressed that what is being raised about the increase in gasoline prices next July, with the implementation of the state's new budget, is "incorrect".
He said: "There is a committee to review and evaluate prices every 3 months, including a representative from the ministry of finance and a representative of Petroleum. Prices are changing according to the international price of oil and the exchange rate, and accordingly the global price of petroleum products."
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