Naftogaz boasts about first profit from crude oil production in Egypt since 2007

"We have many different businesses. In particular, we produce oil and gas in Egypt. We've manage to make this business profitable ... This year we've received a net cash surplus of $5 million. Prior to that, our losses were estimated at $20-30 million every year," Naftogaz Chief Commercial Officer Yuriy Vitrenko said on a Ukrainian national TV channel.

Read alsoNaftogaz makes first move to unbundle gas shipmentsAs UNIAN reported, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev announced in late December 2016 that the holding should get rid of its oil-producing assets in Egypt, since they are unprofitable. At the end of February 2017, Vitrenko said that Naftogaz planned to hire an investment adviser to evaluate proposals from other companies to buy these assets.

In early April, Naftogaz announced a tender to buy investment consulting services to assess the feasibility of selling its assets in Egypt. According to the company's tender requirements, the consulting company (investment bank) should provide its recommendations by the end of 2018.

UNIAN memo. Naftogaz has been implementing a hydrocarbon exploration and production project in Egypt since 2007 as part of a concession agreement between Egypt, Naftogaz and the Egyptian General Oil Corporation. Since 2012, these projects are managed by a joint company, Petrosannan Company. In 2015, the company explored oil and gas deposits in the Eastern and Western deserts of Egypt. The total proven and probable crude oil reserves managed by Zakordonnaftogaz in Egypt are 1.1 million tonnes of crude oil and 599.6 million cubic meters of natural gas. In 2015-2016, Petrosannan Company, where Naftogaz's subsidiary, Zakordonnaftogaz, has a stake, produced 370 million cubic meters of natural gas and 630,000 tonnes of crude oil and gas condensate.