Egypt to cut petrol import bill by $70m a month

• Refinery overhaul expands output
• Oil production in ‘growth trajectory’
• 540,000 barrels per day output

A project to expand the state refinery in Cairo will cut Egypt’s petrol import bill by nearly $70 million a month when it is completed in August, its operators said.

The expansion and overhaul at the complex, operated by Cairo Petroleum Refining Company, will add nearly 2,000 tonnes of petrol a month to the country’s production, said Salah Abdel Karim, chief executive of the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

EGPC launched the expansion and maintenance project at the Cairo unit in May. It wants to increase refining output and reverse a decline in crude and gas production and reserves, due to poor maintenance and investments.

“The project aims to reduce Egypt’s fuel import bill by around $70 million per month,” Abdel Karim said after meeting petroleum and mineral resources minister Karim Badawi to discuss plans for the hydrocarbon and refining sectors.

In comments published on the ministry’s website on Wednesday, Badawi said new investment and discoveries in the past months had lifted Egypt’s crude output.

“We have successfully returned crude oil production to a growth trajectory, with total output now exceeding 540,000 barrels per day,” he said.

Egypt, the third largest Arab economy, has reeled under a heavy fuel import bill due to spiraling prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Saudi news website Asharq Business reported last month that the country has increased its fuel import budget by almost 40 percent for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Egypt’s government has allocated $5.5 billion to secure supplies of petrol, diesel and LPG, the report said, citing an unidentified government official.

Further reading:

• Refinery underinvestment exposed by oil crisis, Aramco exec says
• Hormuz crisis fuels Libya oil comeback
• Iraq in crisis over petrol shortage

Rising energy import costs, lower interest rates and foreign investor sales of government debt have weakened Egypt’s currency during the past four months.

Egypt’s recoverable oil and gas deposits stood at about 2.8 billion barrels and 2.2 trillion cubic metres respectively at the end of 2025, according to updated estimates by the Kuwaiti-based Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

It noted that Egypt’s crude reserves had fallen by about 2.8 percent from their level of nearly 2.99 billion barrels at the end of 2021.