Propane prospects MINISTER of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Sameh Fahmi laid the foundation of a massive petrochemical complex in the governorate of Port Said on the Suez Canal, Monday. The complex, mainly dedicated to producing propane and poly-propane, is testimony of a successful public-private sector partnership. The main stakeholders are the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) and GASCO with 26 per cent of the shares, the Oriental Group with 26 per cent, while the remaining stakes are distributed among a group of Arab investors. Planned to start production in 2009, the complex will be completed at a cost of $750 million. Its production capacity is estimated at 350,000 tonnes of propane and poly-propane per year -- two intermediate petrochemical products which are indispensable to a number of vital industries in Egypt, including carpet making, industrial fibres and packaging materials. The project is expected to provide 5,000 new direct and indirect job opportunities. "More important still, the complex will save the country some $150 million in imported products, while eventually contributing some $225 million in exports annually," noted Fahmi. He added that the location of the complex is very strategic since it can easily become an export point to EU markets after covering local needs. Good neighbours EUROPEAN Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero Waldner visited Egypt on 26 February during a tour of the Middle East region. The commissioner discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations with the EU, and the growing opportunities available under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) -- particularly in important areas such as education and energy. Waldner's visit was also an opportunity to explore the current state of play in the peace process and how the EU can work with partners to create conditions for progress. Her other stops included Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan. On the eve of her visit she asserted that "through the ENP, the EU offers its neighbours a privileged relationship that brings advantages to both sides. It strengthens our cooperation in areas of mutual interest like trade relations, energy, migration and visa issues and people-to-people contacts." The ENP action plan will be adopted by the EU-Egypt Association Council on 6 March in Brussels. Expanding potential DANA GAS, the Middle East's first regional private-sector natural gas company, has announced an active drilling programme for 15 wells in Egypt in 2007 by its exploration and production subsidiary, Centurion Egypt. Ten exploration and five development wells are planned, with target depths ranging from 1,000m to 4,000m. Out of the 64 companies that are active in Egypt's oil and gas sector, Dana Gas is currently the sixth largest gas producer in Egypt and among the nine biggest producing companies by production of barrels of oil equivalent (boe). "Dana Gas has a goal of playing a major role in all segments of the gas value chain as an integrated gas company," noted Dana Gas General Manager Rashid Saif Al-Jarwan. "A long-term commitment has been set to help the region's resource-holders to develop their gas reserves for the benefit of their local economies and societies." Al-Jarwan added that while the company is inclined to make further investments in the natural gas sector in Egypt, it will soon be expanding its exploration and production activities in other countries in the region. The company has achieved some important operational milestones recently, including the first liquefied petrol gas (LPG) sales from its newly commissioned Al-Wastani LPG plant, with the capacity of 160 million cubic feet per day. "The Egyptian gas sector has been growing rapidly, with a major domestic market and successful gas exports through liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, and proven reserves doubling in the last five years to 70 trillion cubic feet," asserted Hani El-Sharqawi, president and general manager of Centurion Egypt. It is worth noting that Dana Gas acquired Centurion Egypt in a $950 million deal that would ultimately cement its position in the upstream exploration and production sector of natural gas in the Middle East. Centurion ended 2006 with estimated gas reserves of approximately 100 million boe, gas production of over 31,000 boe/day and operating cash flows of almost $90 million. Dana Gas will also benefit from Centurion's further exploration potential of 26,300 square kilometres in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, an area that has been approached by a number of major international energy companies for potential collaboration in this area. Siemens servicing industry GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif witnessed the signing of three agreements between Siemens Egypt's Automation and Drives (A&D), the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC) and the Industrial Training Centre (ITC), to provide better services to industrial enterprises and to address their main training issues. The signing ceremony which took place during Merkel's visit to Cairo last week was also attended by Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Germany's Minister of Economics and Technology Michael Glos. Siemens Egypt A&D had taken initial steps in collaboration with IMC in 2006 to survey local equipment manufacturers, conduct a gap analysis for local manufacturers, and issue recommendations for businesses that are eligible for modernisation. Siemens will develop and modernise 30 local Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), which aim to increase the exports of local industry. The second agreement entails a training project between Siemens Egypt A&D and ITC to upgrade the automation, motor and drives, as well as industrial training centres and engineering schools. Siemens's role is to supply equipment for 50 centres throughout Egypt, covering up to 12 centres every six months. The third agreement is concerned with upgrading 50 factories to equip their production lines with either the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) or the Computerised Numeric Controller (CNC). The agreement encompasses several types of manufacturers from various industries, including chemical, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, textile, furniture and engineering .
