Egypt debt to foreign oil companies at $3.5 billion

Egypt's debts to foreign oil companies stood at $3.5 billion dollars at the end of June, a 6.1 percent increase from March, an official at state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) said on Sunday.

The country's payments to oil and gas companies have been delayed by economic instability since a popular uprising ousted leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

"Foreign oil company dues with Egypt have reached $3.5 billion dollars," an EGPC official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.