Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) has arranged a $100 million Murabaha (compatible with Islamic laws) financing facility for Egyptian General Petroleum.

“We are very pleased to be supporting Egypt’s petroleum industry through arranging of this Murabaha facility. It contributes to the stability and security of supply of energy to the Egyptian people,” said Dr Raed Al Rayes, deputy chief executive officer and general manager of APICORP. The state-owned oil company will use these funds to buy liquefied petroleum gas.

The new financing from the Saudi-Arabia based institution is the second of such kind to a Northern African nation since the beginning of the year. In May 2016, operators in Algeria benefited from a similar facility. In a report entitled “big plans in uncertain times”, APICORP said MENA countries would spend up to $900 million in the five next years in the power sector. Algeria should indeed invest a lot in its upstream sector.

APICORP is a multilateral development bank established in 1975 by the 10-member states of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

Idriss Linge