Egyptian refinery secures loan for expansion project

Assiut Petroleum Refining Co. (ASORC) has secured financing from Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for the upgrade of its 47,000-b/d refinery in Asyut, Egypt.

Members of IDB’s board of executive directors approved $198 million in financing for the refinery project at an Aug. 24 meeting, IDB said.

To be completed in partnership with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC), the refinery upgrade will include a 1.4-million tonne/year diesel hydrocracking complex to convert lower-quality heavy fuels into high-quality petroleum products such as LPG, naphtha, kerosine, and gasoline, according to separate presentations EGPC and Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum (MOP) in 2013.

The project, which will require a total investment of $2.8-2.9 billion, is designed to help meet Egypt’s growing demand for petroleum products, EGPC and MOP said.

ASORC, which is run by Egypt’s Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Co., has not disclosed more specific details regarding the entire scope of the project.

The diesel hydrotreating complex previously was scheduled to be operational between 2016 and 2017, according to MOP.