An independent Egyptian oil services company has been given a $28 million (£18.3m) loan to help its strengthen safety and environmental standards.

A “comprehensive policy dialogue programme” will also be provided to promote the adoption of the standards across the wider oil and gas sector in the country.

Advanced Energy Systems SAE (ADES) will use part of the loan to address the shortage of drilling equipment in the country.

The nation is said to suffer frequent natural gas shortages and the introduction of offshore drilling technologies is expected to boost the development of domestic production.

Riccardo Puliti, Managing Director, Energy and National Resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said: “The combination of financing and policy dialogue will allow us to improve people’s lives in Egypt by minimising energy shortages and raising environmental standards.”