The head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Nasr Abo El-Seoud, will be relieved of his duties and replaced by Said Mostafa, the current head of the state-owned petroleum company Petro Trade, Osama Kamel, minister of petroleum and mineral resources, told state-owned MENA news agency.

The ministry of petroleum also decided to discharge Amr Mostafa, the head of the operations department at the petroleum authority.

Kamel’s decisions come as the country is hit by a severe diesel fuel shortage crisis, which has lasted for the past three days.

Microbus drivers, the main consumers of diesel fuel, staged several strikes and blocked major roads in Cairo to protest the diesel shortages.