Egypt Expects $30Bln Investment in Energy Sector Over Three Years

Egypt expects to draw in some $30 billion worth of investment into the country's energy sector, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek Molla said Tuesday.

ABU DHABI (Sputnik) — On the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), Molla told reporters:

"We plan to finish the 2015-2016 financial year with the volume of investment in the oil and gas sector amounting to $7 billion and $8 billion next year. We count on bringing in some $30 billion of investments over the three coming years."

Egypt plans to become a regional energy hub after becoming self-sufficient in gas by 2021, he added.

ADIPEC 2016, a leading global oil and gas event, is taking place on November 7-10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Egypt has been in a drive to revamp its energy sector amid costly liquid natural gas imports and declining gas field yields. The authorities have given out new exploration contracts and ramped up gas prices, spurring companies to invest in development.

Underinvestment in the energy sector has become an issue over the past year as global oversupply and stagnating demand caused oil prices to plunge from $115 per barrel in June 2014 to less than $30 per barrel in January 2016, thus driving investors away.