IDSC: Aramco step not mean oil supply agreement terminated

Aramco's failure to deliver October's fuel supplies does not mean that an agreement with the Saudi side is terminated, said the Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) on Wednesday.

The Saudi oil giant is required to provide the Egyptian petroleum ministry with 700,000 tons of oil products a month for five years. But, Aramco has notified the ministry that it would not be able to deliver this month's shipment.

In reply, the ministry contracted to import alternative oil quantities from world suppliers, said the IDSC in a report of facts.

The step was meant to meet local needs and to maintain the oil reserves, said the report, adding that the ministry confirmed that sufficient fuel supplies of all kinds were available.

It estimated Egypt's oil imports at 40 percent from Aramco and 60 percent from other world suppliers.

As for butane gas, the report said that the oil ministry informed the IDSC that deliveries to all governorates were also regular.

Around one million butane gas cylinders are offered per day into the local market, said the report.

The report assured that contracts to import butane gas were effective as usual, adding that any additional extra needs were swiftly met by extra supplies.

The reserves and contracted quantities are also available for additional supplies, it said.

There is constant cooperation and coordination between the supply ministry and control authorities to check the distribution of oil products in the markets, said the report.

The cabinet is following up through an operations room the availability of butane gas in the market on a daily basis, it added.