Foreign oil companies have slashed their budgets for 2015 by 30 percent, driven by declining world petroleum rates, former petroleum minister Ossama Kamal said, adding that the step would affect the companies’ investment plans at the countries where they are operating, including Egypt.
Oil prices have seen a record decline unseen since 2009, going to below US$50 per barrel.
But prices will recover gradually starting March and till the end of 2015, Kamal told Al-Masry Al-Youm. They, however, will not reach their previous $100 rates, he predicted.
Kamal expects major world companies, especially the United States, to adopt measures over the next months that help drive prices up gradually, pushed by pressures from producer companies.
He, however, ruled out that Arab states reduce production due to the internationally plummeting prices, adding that doing that would double their losses and reduce their revenues further.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
