Egypt has denied threats by four oil companies to withdraw their investments, if the government delayed the payment of arrears owed to foreign partners before the end of March 2016.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Petroleum, Hamdi Abdel Aziz, stated this in a statement on Wednesday. He said the existence of fees that has been piled up from previous years does not count as a threat at all, particularly since over 50 % of the debts has been paid. Abdel Aziz added that foreign investments in the country’s oil sector is currently around $7 billion.

According to Middle East Monitor, an undisclosed source on Wednesday revealed that talks are ongoing between the Ministry of Petroleum and some foreign partners for the payment of part of the money owned, which is estimated to be $3 billion, so as to stop companies from withdrawing their investments.

The source disclosed that the country’s petroleum sector paid above 50 % of the initial $6.3 billion owed in December 2013.

Anita Fatunji