Egypt to Achieve Self-Sufficiency in Petroleum Products by 2023

Egypt is on its way to producing enough fuel to cover its needs by 2023. She takes advantage of its new projects and developments in the oil sector, according to what was revealed by the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

In an interview with Bloomberg, a US news agency,  on the sidelines of a climate conference in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Minister Tarek El Molla said that Egypt will achieve its planned goal thanks to the modernization of existing refineries and the establishment of 7 new ones as part of a project costing about $7 billion.

The new facilities will be able to produce 6.2 million tons of petroleum products annually such as gasoline and diesel.

The minister added that Egypt is not a big oil producer, but is doing well in refined products.

Instead of importing refined products,  Egypt prefers importing crude oil and refines it locally.

Egypt is already self-sufficient in natural gas after the discovery of the giant Zohr field in the Mediterranean in 2015, which came after years of declining production that forced her to halt most liquefied natural gas ( LNG) exports, according to Bloomberg.

The minister said that with LNG exports growing again, Egypt plans to negotiate more long-term sales deals with customers and reduce its dependence on the spot market.

He added that his country currently sells about 60% of liquefied natural gas through long-term contracts and 40% on a spot basis.

However, Egypt is seeking to become a major hub for shipping gas to Europe, where demand is growing as governments shift from more polluting fossil fuels like coal and oil to cleaner sources like gas.

On Tuesday, Egypt announced the discovery of new fields of oil and gas in the country's western desert, through 3 exploration wells that were used by the Italian company Eni.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said, in a statement published on Facebook, that the Italian company made three new discoveries in Mleiha concessions and southwest of Mleiha, in the Western Desert, which include oil, gas, and condensate discoveries.