Egypt updates strategy, project plans for petrochemicals industry

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources (MOPMR) plans to spend $19 billion between 2020-35 to implement 11 new projects as part of its updated strategy and national program for development of the country’s petrochemicals production industry.

Currently still under review as of late May in preparation for final approval, the updated petrochemicals plan and strategy come as part of MOPMR’s effort to support long-term global competitiveness of Egypt’s petrochemical industry by helping to increase production of intermediate and finished products that will meet domestic industrial demand for petrochemicals as well as open opportunities for exports abroad, which would improve the country’s trade balance and provide new resources in foreign exchange, said Tariq El -Molla, minister of MOPMR.

Alongside a series of derivatives and bio-based petrochemical projects, the revised petrochemical program includes a series of previously announced downstream projects included as part of MOPMR’s petroleum sector modernization program (PSMP), an integrated plan developed in 2016 as part of Egypt’s strategy to reignite investment interest in its petroleum industry following sharp declines in activity in the aftermath of the country’s 2011 revolution.

A major project included under the revised plan involves construction of a new integrated refining and petrochemical complex at New Al-Alamein City on Egypt’s northwestern coast, near Marsa Matrouh governorate. The complex would have crude and condensate processing capacity of 2.5 million tonnes/year for production of a variety of high-quality fuels and petrochemical products to meet local demand, with any surplus exported. via the Al Hamra terminal near the Mediterranean Sea (OGJ Online, Apr. 6, 2020).

Regarding the proposed $8.5-billion Al-Alamein project—which, if realized, would produce 1 million tpy of petrochemical products and 850,000 tpy of petroleum fuels—El-Molla said principle agreements have been signed to execute detailed studies for the complex, with Engineering Co. for Petroleum & Chemical Industries (ENPPI) also working on preparation of a tender to find a general contractor for the project.

Another major project involved in the new strategy includes Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Co.’s (ECHEM) earlier announced project to build an integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) (OGJ Online, Feb. 14, 2020).

ECHEM’s proposed $7.5-million SCZone integrated complex—for which Bechtel Corp. is providing engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as assisting in facilitating project financing financial institutions—if realized, would produce 2.2 million tpy of petrochemical products and 650,000 tpy of fuels, according to El-Molla.