Egypt is set to receive a diesel shipment as part of its petroleum products agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco this weekend.
Head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Abed Ezz El Regal, said that the agreement with Aramco includes committing to the timetable of shipments.
He added that four shipments of fuel, including two gasoline and two diesel shipments, have been received, noting that the other gasoline and fuel shipments will be coming as per schedule throughout the month.
The deal included supplying 400,000 tonnes of diesel, 200,000 tonnes of benzene, and 100,000 tonnes of mazut monthly. EGPC pays for the shipments at an interest rate of 2% over a 15-year period.
The Egyptian market needs 1.2 million tonnes of diesel fuel per month, as well as 340,000 tonnes of butane, 530,000 tonnes of gasoline, and 2 million tonnes of fuel oil, according to EGPC.
The Ministry of Petroleum had announced earlier this month that Aramco will resume its oil shipments to Egypt, as part of the commercial agreement signed between EGPC and Aramco in April 2016. The contract provides for Aramco to supply 700,000 tonnes of petroleum products to Egypt every month for five years, amounting to $23bn. The shipments had recently been suspended for about six months.
Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla said in previous remarks that the agreement to import 1 million barrels of oil per month from Iraq is still intact, noting that those shipments were not replacing Aramco’s shipments. He added that Egypt is already importing Iraqi oil from international traders. He explained that the government-level agreement with Iraq includes facilitated terms and payment plans.
