Egypt to pay $1.5bn oil debt this year, restarts BP deal

Egypt will pay $1.5 billion of the money it owes to foreign energy companies by the end of 2014, its oil minister said on Thursday, as the government tries to stave off a worsening power crisis.

Political turmoil and violence since the 2011 revolt that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak has hit the economy hard and deepened problems in the chaotic and underdeveloped energy sector with generous state subsidies stoking demand.

The latest government figures put Egypt's debts to foreign oil companies operating there at $5.7 billion, but officials including Oil Minister Sherif Ismail acknowledge that debts are mounting even as the government pays off what it owes now.

The government has promised to pay companies including BG Group BG.L and BP $3 billion by the end of 2017 as it tries to lure back investors to tap its reserves and boost production to meet soaring demand.