Egypt wants to attract USD 7.7-8 bn in foreign investment into the oil and gas sector in the current fiscal year, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Bloomberg Asharq. This would raise the proportion of foreign investment in the sector to 40% from 35%, the minister said. Foreign companies invested USD 5.7 bn during FY 2021-2022.

On Qatar: Egypt is cooperating with QatarEnergy in several concession areas for exploration in the Mediterranean and Red Sea, the minister said. El Molla traveled to Qatar last week alongside President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, though it remains unclear who he met with during the trip. Qatar Energy has deepened its involvement in Egypt’s oil and gas sector, acquiring a 40% stake in an exploration block in the Mediterranean earlier this year.

We’re going to need to wait a little longer to be self-sufficient in refined fuels: The ministry’s ambition to become self-sufficient in petroleum products by 2023 could be delayed due to the global crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, El Molla told CNBC in a separate interview. Egypt had set 2023 as its year to achieve self-sufficiency in refined fuels, thanks to large-scale upgrades to oil refineries and new facilities. The 2018 discovery of the supergiant Zohr gas field — the Mediterranean’s largest — allowed us to pull the plug on gas imports.