Page 11 - DMEA Week 29 2022

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Egypt adjusts fuel prices

upward in quarterly review

AFRICA IN its latest quarterly review of fuel prices, used by high-end consumers, grew by EGP1 per
Egypt’s government has opted to make an litre to EGP10.75 ($0.57) per litre.
upward adjustment of EGP0.5-1.0 ($0.026- At the same time, the price of diesel, a popu-
0.053) per litre for all types of petroleum prod- lar fuel for freight transportation and trucking,
ucts in light of the upswing in global crude oil was also adjusted upwards by EGP0.5 per litre
prices. to EGP7.25 ($0.38) per litre. Egypt’s government
This administrative adjustment is set to send has resisted diesel price hikes for a long time for
transport costs up by 5-7% nationwide. It also fear of lending momentum to inflation on the
threatens to rekindle inflation in the coming commodity and goods markets.
months, after the headline annual Consumer The government also raised the price of diesel
Price Index eased to 13.2% in June from 13.5% for industrial use by EGP400 ($21.14) per tonne
in May. to EGP5,000 ($264.30) per tonne, in line with its
Under the new pricing schedule, the price of policy to eliminate fuel subsidies to the industrial
80-octane gasoline, the most widely used grade sector.
of fuel for passenger cars, has risen by EGP0.75 However, it maintained the price of diesel
($0.04) per litre to EGP8 ($0.42) per litre. charged to bread makers and electricity genera-
Meanwhile, the price of 92-octane gasoline has tors in an attempt to ease the burden shouldered
increased by EGP0.5 per litre to EGP9.25 ($0.49) by the most vulnerable segments of society and
per litre, and that of 95-octane gasoline, a fuel to keep generators units up and running.™

TERMINALS & SHIPPING

Libya’s crude exports resume

after months of closures

AFRICA LIBYA’S National Oil Corp. (NOC) said the supply cuts. Many of these closures stem from
country’s crude exports resumed on July 20, fol- disputes over oil revenues, which have in turn
lowing several months of oilfield and terminal fueled fierce power struggles between eastern
closures. and western clans over NOC, which provides
Oil production had resumed earlier on July most of Libya’s revenues.
19 at several sites – including Sharara, the coun- One of those struggles came to the forefront
try’s largest oilfield – after nearly three months last week, when Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul-
of closure. On the same day, NOC reported that hamid Dbeibah replaced NOC’s long-serving
the Italian-flagged tanker IBELA had entered the leader, Mustafa Sanalla, with Farhat Bengdara,
Brega oil terminal to load a shipment. a former central bank governor. Sanalla has
Then on July 20, a Maltese-flagged tanker, refused to recognise Dbeibah’s appointment of
the Matala, docked at the Sidra terminal to ship a new head and has continued to lead NOC.™
1mn barrels of crude oil, before heading to Italy,
according to a statement from NOC. Mean-
while, two more tankers, the Marshall Islands-
flagged Nissos Sifnos and the Liberia-flagged
Crudemed, were due to ship a combined 1.6mn
barrels on July 20 from the Zueitina and Ras
Lanuf terminals, the statement said.
State-owned NOC had lifted the force
majeure on all fields and oil terminals in the
North African country earlier in July.
Libya produced nearly 1.2mn barrels per day
(bpd) of oil on average in 2021. But in recent
months, output levels have plunged due to the
continued closures, as well as frequent power

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