The Ministry of Petroleum signed 99 petroleum agreements during the past seven years, with a minimum investment of $17 billion, according to Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla’s recent statement.

Molla added during the Egyptian Petroleum Association seminar that 384 wells were drilled, and more than 85 percent of the foreign partners' accrued dues from 2011 to June 2013 were paid.

Dues to foreign companies had accumulated to reach $6.3 billion during that period, which was reflected in the slowdown in investments in research and exploration, and the halting of new natural gas development projects due to the turmoil, as well as the natural decline in the production of wells and the need to develop the infrastructure for the production and circulation of petroleum products.

According to a new vision, the ministry succeeded in implementing 29 development projects with investments of LE 438 billion, which contributed to achieving growth in the gas sector from 11 percent in 2015-2016 to 25 percent in 2018-2019.

This is in addition to achieving the highest rate of crude oil and gas production during the last two fiscal years, amounting to 1.8 million barrels per day, achieving self-sufficiency in gas and re-exporting from the liquefaction plants in Idku and Damietta.

The ministry's vision includes developing refineries to achieve self-sufficiency in gasoline and diesel in 2023, which includes seven projects with investments of about LE 86 billion, producing 6.2 million tons annually.

“Increasing local production, rationalizing consumption measures, and growing consumption of gas as a fuel led to a decrease in the import of gasoline and diesel by about 30 percent,” the minister explained.

With regard to developing the petrochemical industry to maximize the added value, Molla said that two new projects have been implemented in Damietta and Alexandria with investments of about LE 472 billion, with production rates of 4 million tons annually, an increase of 40 percent.

The volume of natural gas consumption doubled more than 20 times, reaching 47 million tons during the last fiscal year, of which the electricity sector accounted for 60 percent, the industrial sector 12 percent, and the quantities of household gas consumption amounted to 6 percent during the year. It will reach 7 percent during the next fiscal year as a result of the intensification of projects to deliver natural gas to homes.

Natural gas was delivered to 12.3 million housing units over 41 years, 50 percent of which were during the last seven years.

The total number of cars converted to natural gas reached 369,000, including 165,000 cars, during the year 2020/2021, and the total number of car refueling stations reached 369.

The Ministry of Petroleum aims to add 400,000 cars, including converting 150,000 cars, in addition to replacing 250,000 cars through the initiative over a period of 3 years.