Egypt to cut fuel imports to 10% of consumption by 2019

The Oil Ministry has put forward a plan to cut fuel imports to 10% of consumption by 2019, according to an Al Borsa report cited by Reuters. Minister Tarek El Molla says plans are in place to ramp up production to reduce imports, which account for 30% of total consumption currently. Reuters notes that Egypt is already engaged in talks with LNG suppliers to defer shipments of fuel already contracted for delivery in 2018, as surging domestic gas production pushes back demand for imports. The reduction in imports will cut the amount of money spent on buying both unrefined and refined fuel products, El Molla says, as Egypt consumes 6.8 mn tonnes of fuel products in total per month.