Egypt says to repay debts to foreign oil companies within six months

Cairo: Egypt plans to repay all of the $4.9 billion debt owed to foreign oil and gas companies within six months, the oil ministry said on Thursday, a move it hopes will prompt them to step up exploration and ease the worst energy crunch in decades.

Egypt has delayed payments to oil and gas firms as its economy has been hammered by almost three years of instability since a popular uprising ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The oil ministry said in a statement that Egypt planned to borrow $2 billion to help it finance the repayments, seeking to pay back 60 per cent of the arrears by year-end. Egypt said in October it had repaid $1.5 billion of the money owed, leaving $4.9 billion outstanding.