The state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has received two banking offers to secure around $325 million, a senior source familiar with the matter told Amwal Al Ghad Saturday. The financing will go for Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC)'s Hydrogen Cracking of Mazut Complex project, of which the investment cost ranges between $1.3-1.6 billion. The project aims to convert low-valued mazut, the surplus of the south after natural gas delivery, into higher-valued products required by the market. It also seeks to maximise the benefit of the infrastructure and the available utilities of the company, thus achieving a high return. Meanwhile, as for the first offer, it is made by a consortium of several banks, notably Banque Misr and HSBC. The second offer is led by the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), which acts as a financial adviser, alongside some foreign banks, the source added. EGPC is expected to choose one of the two offers within the first half of 2016, so as to proceed with the financing process, the source stated. Moreover, the project is set to generate production of 1.4 million of diesel, 105,000 tonnes of butane, 389,000 tonnes of Naphtha, 346,000 tonnes of coal, and 75,000 of sulfur per year. EGPC has seven refineries operating with production capacity of 30 million tonnes of petroleum materials.
