Egypt this month renewed a contract to import 12 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil over the next year, an official at state petroleum buyer EGPC said on Sunday.

The official, who declined to be named, said that six 2-million barrel cargoes of crude would be supplied over the course of a year, starting this month.

The Iraqi deal was originally agreed last April with the first shipment arriving in May. Egypt has gone from exporting energy to being a net importer as domestic output has failed to keep pace with rising demand.