Egypt aims to repay foreign oil company dues next year

• Nearly $220m paid in November
• Outstanding $1.5bn by Q1
• Exploratory drilling planned

Egypt reportedly paid nearly $220 million in outstanding dues to foreign oil companies in early November and plans to repay all arrears by the first quarter of next year. 

The total outstanding payment owed to foreign oil companies stands at $1.5 billion, of which $400 million will be paid before the year end, Ashraq Business, an Arabic financial website, reported, quoting an unidentified government official.

Egypt paid nearly $500 million in September to foreign oil companies to encourage them to resume exploration and drilling activities and boost the country’s gas production.

Egypt has become the largest LNG importer in the Middle East in 2025 according to Bloomberg, surpassing Kuwait. The country plans to raise natural gas output to 6.6 billion cubic feet per day by 2030, up from the current 4.2 billion cubic feet. 

As part of this strategy, it will drill 14 exploratory wells in the Mediterranean in 2026 to assess reserves estimated at 12 trillion cubic feet, the report said.

To ease the financial burden, the government plans to allow some companies to export gas shipments abroad, thereby reducing their receivables. Egypt has also agreed with major companies, including Italy’s Eni, Apache in the US, and the UK’s BP, to settle their dues in full by early next year. 

Further reading:

• Egypt to resume LNG exports this month
• Egypt signs LNG supply deals with global companies
• Egypt seeks bids for four Red Sea oil and gas blocks

Together, these companies account for about 60 percent of the outstanding payments owed to foreign operators, the report said.

This month Egypt launched a global tender for oil and gas exploration in four Red Sea regions, aiming to attract new foreign investment and boost domestic gas production.

The country’s import bill for LNG and petroleum products has risen by 60 percent so far in 2025 to $20 billion from $12.5 billion in 2024, according to Bloomberg data.