Egypt’s economy is on the up: foreign reserves rose to a record $37.2bn at end-2017 and the IMF forecasts 2018 growth of 4.8%, an eight-year high. At least some of this is filtering through to IOCs active in the country with the sums they are owed by EGPC falling to $2.3bn as of mid-2017, and the oil ministry flagging up a further $200mn payout last month (though if this is the only payment since mid-2017, overall dues have likely risen, not fallen, since). The recent rise in oil prices, with Brent over $60/B since late October has of course provided a further boost.
All this means that small-to-midsize independents that provide a large chunk of Egypt’s oil output are finally looking at boosting investment. (CONTINUED - 916 WORDS)
