Exclusive MEES analysis based on company filings suggests that whilst the receivables owed to foreign oil firms in Egypt have fallen, the total remains at around $5.4bn, some $2.3bn higher than Cairo’s figure. Meanwhile, capex cuts in response to lower oil prices may stymie Cairo’s attempts to boost output.
Egyptian state-owned firm EGPC made $2.1bn-worth of payments to international oil companies (IOCs) in the dying days of 2014, reducing the total monies owed to $3.1bn according to its calculations (MEES, 2 January). However extensive MEES number-crunching indicates that the total sum owed is around $5.4bn (see table). (CONTINUED - 812 WORDS)
