Egypt’s new Petroleum Minister, Sherif Haddara, immediately named his former colleague Tarek El-Barkatawy, as chief executive of state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corp., or EGPC.
Haddara, also from EGPC, is the third Petroleum Minister since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in the Arab Spring revolt of February 2011. He took over from Abdullah Ghorab.
Egypt has interesting energy challenges. It boasts the largest refining capacity on the continent and yet faces acute shortage of diesel. It has over 60Tcf of gas, some of which feed two large LNG Trains, but as it consumes more gas than any country on the continent it has found itself desperate for natural gas import. Most crucially, this year, fuel subsidies will cost the country around $20.3Billion(140Billion Egyptian Pounds).
Mr. El-Barkatawy served as first under-secretary for agreements and exploration at the Egyptian oil ministry since December last year. He has 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, having worked for several international firms, the ministry said in a statement.