An official from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) stated to Egypt Oil&Gas that the country will import 320,000t of benzene and diesel per month during November and December in order to meet local demands and avoid fuel shortages.

He added that EPGC is currently negotiating with foreign suppliers on the terms and conditions of the deal, with the cargoes coming mainly from neighboring Arabic countries. Furthermore, EGPC aims to reach an agreement for payment plans in both EGP and USD, allowing the company to pay 50% of the amounts in the local currency.

In related news, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, had stated that Egypt’s fuel subsidies had decreased during fiscal year 2015/2016 by 28.7% from the year before, as the country aims to reduce costly energy assistance that consume a large portion of the state budget. Additional, Egypt had budgeted EGP 35.04b for energy aid during the current fiscal year 2016/2017, as the government is expected to implement further cuts to subsidy expenditure.