Egypt faces no problem in petroleum products until end of 2013: Al-Ahram report

Ahram Online, Sunday 20 Oct 2013

After worries about liquidity problems, state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reports that funds are sufficient to ensure supply in petroleum products until the end of the year

petroleum
File photo: A worker fills the tank of a car at a petrol station in Cairo, March 12, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt’s petroleum products supply is sufficient until the end of the current year due to Arab Gulf aid and available funds for imports, state-owned Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported Sunday.

The Ministry of Finance is obliged to pay dues on imported petroleum shipments on time, Al-Ahram reported, citing the head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Tareq Al-Molla.

In August, an anonymous official told Al-Ahram that the petroleum ministry had been suffering liquidity problems, preventing it from covering the cost of importing petroleum products. It is reportedly owed LE151 billion (roughly $21.6 billion) by other governmental bodies.

According to Al-Molla, oil-rich Arab states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are keen on delivering petroleum products to the Egyptian government as scheduled.

The United Arab Emirates sent seven shipments of fuel in July worth $225 million, following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Similarly, Kuwait sent Egypt four million barrels of crude oil worth some $450 million.

In July, Kuwait pledged Egypt $4 billion in aid, comprising a $2 billion Central Bank deposit, a $1 billion grant and $1 billion in oil products.

Al-Ahram added Sunday that the Egyptian government supplies daily around 35,000 tons of diesel and 17,000 tons of gasoline.

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