- Guidelines for a new policy for pricing energy for the industrial sector in Egypt is being developed and will be published by the end of June. According to Rachid Mohamed Rachid, minister of foreign trade and industry, the policy aims at unifying and stabilising the price at which energy is sold for the entire industrial sector for the next five years. Prices will gradually increase within the following 10 years in accordance with the international energy prices prevailing at the time. The process would be concluded in a way that would guarantee maintaining a competitive advantage for the Egyptian industry, Rachid assured. It is worth noting that the bill for subsidising different energy sources in Egypt is getting higher with the increase in international energy prices. The latest subsidy figure announced by the Ministry of Petroleum was LE48 billion for 2006. Although businessmen are yet to react to the decision, anti-subsidy advocates believe that it is ridiculous to sell energy at reduced rates particularly for customs-free and tax-free projects set up in free zones. - The South East of Suez industrial zone will soon be home to major oil- related industrial projects aimed at producing crude oil pumps, industrial safety equipment and security materials and, for the first time in Egypt, onshore rigs. Products are planned to cover local market needs and for export to Arab and African countries. During his visit to the area last week Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi, accompanied by Suez Governor Seifeddin Galal, laid the foundation of the first ever onshore rig factory. The Egyptian- Chinese project will cost $30 million and is expected to produce three onshore rigs by the end of 2007. The new factory will provide 500 direct and supporting jobs. It will reach production capacity of 20 rigs by 2011. The first phase for the construction of an Egyptian-German oil pump factory has been completed. The three-phase factory will be completed at a cost of LE150 million and it will be responsible for producing oil and natural gas pumps as well as providing spare parts and maintenance facilities to some 6,000 operating pumps in the market. Finally, the production capacity of a two LE39 million investment factories in the area will be doubled. The factories produce personal and industrial safety equipment used by petroleum, construction, transportation and services companies in Egypt. - On 28 May, Dana Gas, the first Middle East private sector natural gas company, signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation and co-investment with the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP). Headquartered in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, APICORP is a leading inter- governmental regional financial institution specialised in energy finance and investment in the Arab region. Both companies are already working together building and operating the Gulf of Suez Gas Liquids Plant, a high-tech gas liquids extraction and manufacturing plant near Ras Shukheir on the western shore of the Gulf of Suez. The plant process approximately 150 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas and will produce some 120,000 metric tonnes per year of propane and butane in liquid form.
