Egypt's Debts to International Oil Companies Rise to $3.58b

Egypt's debts to international oil and gas companies rose to $3.58 billion by the end of September, the oil minister said, from about $3.2 billion six months ago. The oil ministry said last year that it aimed to reduce its arrears to foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country to $2.5 billion by the end of 2015 and pay them off completely by the end of 2016. But the debts have risen significantly from about $3 billion at the end of last year.