CAIRO - Egypt has directed international oil ‍companies to ‍double production by 2030, Energean International CEO Nicolas ​Katcharov told Reuters on Tuesday, saying existing contracts must be ⁠revised to spur new investment.

Katcharov said the low gas prices ⁠that supported ‌earlier development phases had "expired", making it necessary to update terms to encourage companies to deploy ⁠capital and boost production at brownfield sites.

"I can’t tell the exact price, but there is a huge gap between domestic gas prices and imported ⁠gas prices," he said.

He ​said Energean had been owed more than $200 million by Egypt and had ‍recently received $80 million, adding that the company remained confident of ​pledges by the petroleum minister to clear remaining arrears.

The petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Katcharov also said gas flows from Israel to Egypt had risen, with the pipeline now operating at full capacity.

Egypt's natural gas production has been declining despite government pledges to boost output.

Production fell to 3,431 million ⁠cubic metres in November, down from ‌3,635 million cubic metres in October and 3,692 million cubic metres in November 2024, according to ‌data from the ⁠Joint Organisations Data Initiative.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ezz; Editing by ⁠Andrew Heavens, Louise Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)