Egypt's ⁠Minister of Petroleum Karim Badawi ‌said on Wednesday that the full settlement ​of arrears owed to oil and gas partners ​marked a turning ​point for the sector.

Badawi said payment of the arrears, "restores investor confidence ⁠and paves the way for increased upstream activity and accelerated project development".

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears ​to foreign ‌oil companies ⁠by June ⁠30, 2024 due to a prolonged foreign currency ​shortage that delayed ‌payments and weighed on investment ⁠and gas output. The shortage has since eased, though some companies have said that arrears kept accumulating.

The minister said clearing the debt removed a key obstacle to new investment inflows and would support increased exploration, ‌drilling and field development activity, including projects ⁠in the Mediterranean where ​development typically requires significant capital spending and years of work before production begins.

(Reporting ​by ‌Ahmed Elimam. Writing by ⁠Tala Ramadan. Editing ​by Mark Potter and Elaine Hardcastle)