The Egyptian government has paid $1.5bn in owed money to foreign oil and gas companies, cutting its total debt to $4.9bn, according to a statement released by the Petroleum Ministry on 2 October.

The North African country is currently experiencing its worst energy crisis in decades due to declining natural gas production and increasing domestic demand.

The main driver of the decline in production has been reduced investment by oil companies due to the low prices paid by the Egyptian government and its failure to pay on time.

Cairo’s debts to oil companies stood at $5.9bn at the end of April.

The last time Egypt made a payment to foreign oil companies was in December last year, when $1.5bn was distributed to firms including the UK’s BP and BG Group.

The latest payment was financed with a £E10bn ($1.4bn) loan to Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) from the National Bank of Egypt, a commercial lender.