Kuwait To Raise Crude Oil Exports To Egypt, Could Send Diesel

Kuwait plans to raise its crude oil exports to Egypt to up to 100,000 barrels per day from 65,000 bpd now and is ready to supply it with refined fuel too if needed, a Kuwaiti oil official said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have together provided Egypt with billions of dollars in grants, loans and petroleum products since former President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown by the army last year, providing a badly-needed economic lifeline.

Kuwait was studying Egypt’s need for petroleum products, said Nasser al-Mudhaf, managing director for international marketing at state owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC).

“We are ready to provide it with diesel,” he told Reuters before travelling to Cairo.

Kuwait has said it would ship around two million barrels of crude oil a month in early October to Egypt, giving it priority as a buyer ahead of sales from storage into the Mediterranean market.

The petroleum aid has not, however, managed to noticeably ease Egypt’s frequent power cuts, even in upscale areas.

Saudi Arabia sent Egypt $3 billion worth of refined oil products from April up to the first week of this month, an official from Egypt’s state oil company told Reuters in September.

Egypt said it would buy 65 per cent of its oil product imports for the next year from the UAE.