President Mohamed Morsi reviewed on Sunday 10/3/2013 with Petroleum Minister Osama Kamal the ministry's plan to end the diesel crisis that is hitting Egypt hard, the presidency said in a statement.

The statement said the President viewed the ministry's plan to meet people's fuel demands.

The minister said his talks with Morsi tackled steps to provide power stations with gas ahead of the summer.

Meanwhile, Kamal attributed the diesel crisis striking the country to the absence of various forms of control bodies and the sale of diesel in the black market on the part of some persons who exploited the current conditions in the country.

The minister noted that the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority (GPA) is pumping 35,000 tons of diesels daily.

The minister further blamed Egypt's diesel fuel crisis on smuggling operations.

He urged citizens and prosecutors to join hands to prevent smuggling of subsidized fuel, especially diesel fuel.

Kamal decided to name Said Mostafa, Petrotrade Chairman, as the chairman of Misr Petroleum, replacing the company's current chairman Nasr Abul-Soud.

The minister also tasked Tareq al-Mula, executive president of the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC), with supervising the operations at the company.