Egypt's Oil Ministry is working on a strategy to upgrade the petrochemical industry and complete the expansion plans that target executing four new projects in the next years, with investments of $1.5 billion, Minister Tarek el-Molla said on Wednesday. El-Molla pointed during a general assembly meeting of the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO) to his ministry's keenness on developing petrochemical industry and increasing its production capacity, noting that it will also help increase the value added of oil products. He said it will also translate into more foreign reserves coming from petrochemical exports. "A developed petrochemical sector will also help support the balance of payments and the national economy," he stressed. El-Molla asserted the importance of implementing projects in a timely manner to increase the production capacity of petrochemicals, which will accordingly contribute to an optimal use of Egypt's surplus of natural gas. El-Molla announced earlier that Egypt aims at attracting investments of $10 billion in the petroleum sector during the current year. El-Molla added that the first international tender for natural gas exploration in the Red Sea will be floated very soon, pointing out that Egypt's gas production amounts to around 6,400 million cubic feet per day. Previously, an official source at the Petroleum Authority said that the volume of joint foreign investments that were pumped during 2018 in the petroleum sector recorded $5.7 billion. The source clarified that $3.2 billion were invested in operations to explore oil and gas, in addition to developing fields, adding that the operating cost reached $1.6 billion. Also, an official source at the Petroleum Authority said that seven agreements were signed to explore petrol and gas with minimum investments of $162 million during 2017/2018. The source elaborated that procedures of 10 new agreements were completed during July and August 2018, noting that 19 contracts were signed to develop the discovered fields until August 2018 to support the targeted plans to increase the production of petrol and gas. Source: Egypt Today
