BG Group plc, has received a US$350 million payment from the Egyptian government, the British world leader in exploration and LNG said in a statement on Monday.
This reduces the company's domestic receivables balance in Egypt to around $1.2 billion, according to a statement.
The payment is the result of the government of Egypt raising funds specifically to help repay debts to the oil and gas sector.
Last week, Minister of Petroleum Sherif Ismail announced that the Egyptian government has paid LE10.5 billion ($1.5 billion) of its debt to foreign oil and gas companies which brings the debt owed to the firms down to LE34.3 billion ($4.9 billion dollars).
“The government aims to reduce the debt to encourage the firms to step up research and exploration operations, to boost local production of oil and gas and minimize imports, which in turn will spare the cash to continue paying Egypt's due debts to its foreign partners,” said Ismail in a statement.
BG Group operates in Egypt through its wholly-owned subsidiary BG Egypt. The company is one of the largest producers of natural gas in Egypt spanning the gas chain from exploration through development and production to LNG. In 2013, Egypt contributed 18 percent of Group production.
