Egypt spends over USD 1.5 bn a month on petroleum products it supplies to the local market, Reuters quotes Oil Minister Tarek El Molla as having said yesterday. The amount covers imports, as well as foreign oil companies shares’ of locally-refined products from JVs with the government, which add up to c. USD 700-800 mn a month, El Molla added. Earlier this year, former finance minister Amr El Garhy had said that tightening consumption of petroleum products in Egypt will help mitigate the impact of rising oil prices that have recently been straining the state budget. The government has reportedly spent an additional EGP 10 bn on fuel subsidies in 1QFY2018-19 as oil prices surged beyond a projected USD 67/bbl in the budget to cross the USD 80/bbl mark. Sources had told us that the fuel subsidy bill for the fiscal year could jump to EGP 100 bn, from EGP 89 bn, if Brent crude remains north of USD 75 / bbl.