Egypt pays $500m in arrears to foreign oil companies

Egypt’s government has paid nearly $500 million in overdue debt to foreign companies in a bid to encourage them to intensify operations and reverse a decline in its gas output.

Alamy | The government hopes to pay back foreign oil companies in full by the end of Q1 2026

• $620m due next

• Owes $1.72bn

• Aims to export gas again

The government made the payment in September and intends to settle another part of the arrears with a payment of $620 million before the end of 2025, the Saudi news website Asharq Business said, quoting an unnamed Egyptian official.

With this month’s settlement, Egypt owes foreign oil companies operating its oil and gas fields around $1.72 billion, the report said.

It added that the official affirmed the government hoped to “clear all the overdue dues” to foreign oil companies by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Earlier this month Egypt’s oil minister Karim Badawi said that gas production is expected to recover following significant discoveries by companies operating in Egypt.

Badawi, speaking at a meeting with heads of those companies in Cairo, said the decision by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to pay foreign partners regularly would boost investor confidence and encourage them to pump more investments.

“The joint efforts with our partners in the oil and gas sector have contributed to reducing the decline in gas production, achieving stability and beginning the journey back to high production rates,” the minister said.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in July that new projects and the award of more contracts to foreign oil majors would boost Egypt’s gas output and allow it to export again in 2027.

By Nadim Kawach

September 23, 2025, 7:56 AM