* Aid helps cost of subsidies, drain on foreign exchangereserves
* Looking to Russia, France or Algeria for gas import deal
* Fuel supply protest led to overthrow of former government
CAIRO, May 5 (Reuters) - Gulf oil producers have given Egypta free fuel lifeling totalling $6 billion in value to help fendoff unrest on its streets in the summer when consumption soars,the head of its national oil company said.
Tarek El-Molla, head of the Egyptian General PetroleumCorporation (EGPC), told financial newspaper Al-Mal that the aidconsisted of "huge quantities" of benzene, diesel, heavy fueloil mazut, butane and crude oil, since last July.
The aid helps reduce the heavy costs of government fuelsubsidies and the drain on foreign exchange reserves.
It came after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)and Kuwait promised Egypt more than $12 billion in loans anddonations days after the army deposed Islamist President MohamedMursi.
El-Molla said the Arab Gulf countries had agreed to rotatemanagement of the support, with the UAE in charge for the firstquarter of 2014 and Saudi Arabia taking over in the secondquarter.
Aid in the form of refined oil products will continue untilat least September, Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian has said.
Last year, Saudi Arabia pledged $2 billion in energyproducts with Kuwait and the UAE promising an additional $1billion each.
Fuel subsidies cost Egypt's government $15 billion a year, afifth of the state budget. The money keeps pump prices wellbelow market values, giving Egyptians no incentive to curb theirconsumption.
Egyptians rioted over long lines at gas pumps just beforeMursi's ousting following mass protests against his rule.
Foreign currency reserves reached $17.414 billion in Marchbut are still nearly half the level seen before the 2011uprising against Hosni Mubarak as political turmoil has hittourism and foreign investment.
Egypt also requires liquefied natural gas (LNG) for powergeneration, in short supply due to declining domestic gasproduction, even as it cut into exports of LNG previouslypromised to foreign firms.
El-Molla said EGPC was owed 110 billion Egyptian pounds($15.7 billion) from other government entities, including 35billion Egyptian pounds each from the finance and petroleumministries.
He said the petroleum ministry had not yet signed anagreement for gas imports but said it would select from amongRussian Gazprom, Gaz de France and Sonatrach ofAlgeria.
He said EGPC was in negotiations with Royal Dutch Shell and Apache Corp for new drilling projectswithout providing further details.($1 = 7.0076 Egyptian Pounds) (Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; Writing by Shadia Nasralla andStephen Kalin, editing by William Hardy)