The ministry of petroleum and mineral resources aims to reduce the gap between the domestic production of gasoline and consumption to 3.8% during the next fiscal year (FY), bringing the total domestic production to about 7.6m tonnes annually while the estimated consumption is 8m tonnes. A source at the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) told Daily News Egypt that domestic diesel production would rise to 14.7m tonnes annually during the next FY, while the consumption would reach 16.8m tonnes, a deficit decline of about 12.5%.
He added that the production of butane gas will increase to 2.6m tonnes annually with local consumption stands at 3.9m tonnes, so the deficit will decrease by 33.3%.
The source pointed to the increase in the production of domestic jet fuel to 4.1m tonnes annually, and consumption of about 670,000 tonnes, which achieves an exportable surplus of 3.43m tonnes during the next FY.
He explained that the increase in domestic production of petroleum products is due to the full exploitation of refining capacities in Egyptian laboratories, and the import of crude oil instead of derivatives and refining it in the labs, saving millions of dollars to the state treasury.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla, said earlier that work was underway to secure the supply of crude oil to Egyptian refineries through imports to increase domestic production of fuel.
He added that the ministry is seeking to complete the project of laying the Iraqi oil pipeline expected to be extended between Basra and Aqaba.
Furthermore, he elaborated that it is intended to achieve self-sufficiency of fuel and petroleum products coinciding with the completion of the implementation and operation of all new expansions with the Egyptian refinery labs in 2022/23.
The source pointed out that the rate of consumption of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and domestic jet fuel represents about 4% per annum, with the consumption of butane falling by about 2% per year due to expansion of gas networks to households.
Egypt has eight refineries with a production capacity of 38m tonnes, however they produce only 25m tonnes annually.
