KUWAIT: Egypt's
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tariq Al-Mulla said Monday that
Kuwaiti companies investing in the oil sector in his country are eager to
expand in light of the good returns and facilities received by the Egyptian
government. Mulla noted during a press conference held in Kuwait on the
occasion of his visit to the country, that Kuwaiti investors are currently
welcoming investment in Egypt due to existing facilities, stable conditions and
expected large returns, indicating that these companies have a desire to expand
in Egypt. The minister pointed out that during his current visit; he met a
number of officials of these companies, including Kuwait Foreign Petroleum
Exploration Company (KUFPEC) and Kuwait Energy.

Mulla affirmed
that he also met with a number of Kuwaiti investors recently in Egypt, where
they revived the idea of establishing a Kuwaiti refinery in the Suez Canal
area. He noted that Egypt currently imports about 2 million barrels of oil from
Kuwait in addition to some petroleum products, including diesel. He pointed out
that his country imports from several other countries and that Egypt exports
some kinds of oil that do not suit Egyptian refineries.

On the current
production of oil from Egypt, he said that the current production is about 660
thousand barrels per day and the target is to reach 670 thousand barrels per
day, pointing out that what Egypt consumes oil exceeds production by about 250
thousand barrels per day. The fluctuation of oil prices makes investment
reduces the number of investors, pointing out that the gas has seen a boom
during the last period because it is not directly related to the fluctuation of
oil prices, as the global companies are interested in investing in the
exploration and production of gas more than oil, he added. He noted that Egypt
reached the self-sufficiency of natural gas in September 2018 whether in the
consumption of electricity or other industries or sectors,
adding that Egypt is working in the second phase of the development of the
field back to reach the production of 3 billion cubic feet per day by next
July.

On the
exploration carried out by Egypt during the coming period, he said that the
Ministry of Petroleum is working on three axes, the first in the Mediterranean
Sea and the second with the implementation of international bidding in the
Eastern and Western Desert, Gulf of Suez and Sinai, while the third axis is the
first bid for the Red Sea. - KUNA