Egyptian oil and gas companies are yielding a good harvest this year, reports Sherine Nasr It is the season for reporting on the financial results of the oil and gas companies working in Egypt. While most of these companies have reported good results as mainly reflected in the volume of net profits made during last year, other relatively new entities in the sector have made leaps in the right direction and could -- in an exceptionally short period -- outgrow their wildest expectations. Among these is the Assiut-based Nile Petroleum Company (NP) which launched in 2005 with an authorised capital of LE150 million and issued capital of LE50 million. Established as a joint venture, stakeholders are Ganope Al-Wadi Petroleum Holding (Ganope) with 30 per cent of stakes, Misr Petroleum (Misr) 20 per cent, Petroleum Cooperative Society (CO-OP) 20 per cent, Assiut Oil Refining Company 20 per cent and Petroleum Pipelines Company 10 per cent. Specialised in producing petrochemical products, lubricants and motor oils, the company's greatest achievement of the year, however, is the production of Al-Neel One, the first ever Egyptian-made marine oil. "The product is produced for the first time in Egypt with the help of British expertise and is now widely traded in Egyptian ports," according to Yehia Shanan, company chairman. Shanan added that the company is also producing some 37 other synthetic motor oils which are rapidly gaining the consumer's trust. The production of the first Egyptian marine oil is a particularly important process for those in the oil industry. "It means that we are gaining more market share with an Egyptian product in a field that has for so long been completely monopolised by the products of foreign companies," explained Shanan. Before launching Al-Neel One, a publicity campaign was planned to acquaint target consumers with the new product. "We have been widely successful in trading our product to brand name companies in Greece and Italy," stated Shokri Meselhi, the company's foreign market and bunker sales general manager. "We have also signed future contracts, and the product is now available in all Egyptian ports as well as the Suez Canal." According to Meselhi, Egypt can play a major role as the hub for producing and trading marine oils thanks to the country's vital ports along the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. This positions Egypt as a centre for international trade. The company's rapid success also allowed it to open branches in Aswan, Qena, Luxor and Sohag governorates in the past three years. Other branches will soon be inaugurated in Hurghada and Safaga on the Red Sea. In addition to manufacturing petrochemical products and motor oils, Al-Neel One now owns and runs five Al-Neel fuelling stations. This figure is expected to reach 13 by the end of this year. According to Shanan, the number of fuelling stations should reach 25 by 2009, all of which will be operating in Upper Egypt. "The company has provided 400 direct and indirect job opportunities in the unemployment-struck society of Upper Egypt," he boasted. In 2007, the company's volume of investment jumped to LE542 million compared to LE15 million in the previous year, with net profits soaring to LE17 million compared to LE5.6 in 2006. "The company is now a stakeholder in three other newly developed companies, one of which is for producing mineral water," noted the company chairman. "Further growth is guaranteed." On the front of transmitting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to urban areas around the country, greater attention has been given to upgrading the national natural gas grid and increasing its capacity to include planned expansions to new areas such as Luxor and the New Valley in Upper Egypt. According to Yehia El-Reidi, chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO), the company's volume of operations during 2007 was significant. "The company has been involved in extending a number of major pipelines from the national LNG network to transport gas to new areas," El-Reidi told a recent general assembly meeting to review the company's financial performance in 2007. Among these extensions were the Taba-Sharm El-Sheikh pipeline at an investment cost of LE518 million; Shoqueir- Hurghada's worth LE323 million in investments; and the LE376 million investment cost for the Dahshour-Koraymat pipeline. Other pipelines were extended to Upper Egyptian governorates, including the Beni Sweif-Abu Qurqas at an investment cost of LE493 million. "Further expansions will be completed during the next months, when natural gas will finally reach Aswan in the farthest south by 2009," revealed El-Reidi. In the meantime, the company provided many of the factories in the 10th of Ramadan industrial zone with natural gas, while others are also on the list. Moreover, the capacity of the national network was increased by seven per cent to carry 160 million cubic metres of LNG daily. Maintenance of the main network infrastructure is an ongoing process. "GASCO's revenues are estimated at LE2.6 billion in 2007, with a 10 per cent increase over the previous year," he added. "Net profits are estimated at LE1.4 billion this year."
