Egypt’s Middle East Oil Refinery Company (Midor) signed a loan agreement worth $1.2 billion with a consortium of three international banks to finance its expansion project to increase its capacity by 60 percent.
Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla said, after signing the agreement, that the expansion will raise production at the refinery to 7.6 million tons from the current 4.6 million tons. It will also contribute to achieving self-sufficiency of petroleum products in line with the state's national project to make Egypt a regional center for oil and gas trade.
Furthermore, the project will produce high-quality products according to the international standards, which contributes to the provision of dollar liquidity through exporting the international standard (Euro-5) products, the minister added.
He pointed out that the ENPI and Petrojet companies will receive 50 percent of the components for this project within the framework of maximizing the local component in the major oil projects.
Italian Ambassador to Egypt Giampaolo Cantini said that this agreement is one of the most important projects in developing the capacity of Egyptian refining firms. It also supports the presence of Italian companies and their participation in contributing to the development of the great potential possessed by Egypt in the oil and gas sector.
Cantini added that the Italian companies aim to play a vital role in the project to transform Egypt into a regional center for the trade and circulation of oil and gas, which has a positive impact on securing the energy supplies of the European Union and supports the possibilities of joint cooperation between the two sides.
The National Bank of Egypt and National Bank of Abu Dhabi are the financial advisors of the project.
