Egypt aims for petroleum self-sufficiency
Egypt is moving forward to produce sufficient fuel to cover its needs, taking advantage of its new projects and development operations in the oil sector, bringing the country closer to achieving self-sufficiency in petroleum products by 2023.
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, said that Egypt will reach self-sufficiency in oil products by 2023, benefiting from its new development projects in the oil sector. Molla’s remarks were made on the sidelines of the climate summit in Riyadh.
He added that Egypt will upgrade its existing refineries and build seven new ones as part of a $7 billion project. The new facilities will be able to produce 6.2 million tons of oil products such as gasoline and diesel per year.
“We are not a large oil producer, but we are doing well with refined products. Instead of importing refined products, we prefer importing crude oil and refining it locally,” he said.
Egypt is seeking to become a major hub for exporting gas to Europe, where demand is rising as governments shift from more polluting fossil fuels like coal and oil to cleaner energy sources like gas.
