Egypt will start exporting crude oil produced from the Western Desert's fields in July, and importing shipments of Arabian Crude, the latter of which is more productive in Egyptian refineries, said Tareq Al-Mula, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). In an interview with The Daily News Egypt, Al-Mula said Western Desert crude will be exchanged for Arabian Crude, which is stored for export in SUMED repositories. The latter is lower is lower quality and thus yields a higher margin for the state at $2 a barrel. Al-Mula said this is because Egyptian plants require API 31 crude, which is similar to the crude produced by Belayim Petroleum and Arabian Crude. The Western Desert produces API 42 crude, according to Al Mula. He pointed out that a kilometre long pipeline is under construction to link the 120 km transmission line between Western Desert's Hamra oil field and the port in Alexandria with the SUMED repositories. Al-Mula said this is due to the export capacity of the port of Al Hamra, which stores Western Desert crude, being no more than 325,000 barrels per shipment. Accordingly, exports will be conducted from the SUMED repositories because the capacity for export is between 600,000 and 650,000 barrels per shipment, he said, increasing margins for both Egypt and its clients. The project will have positive margins for the state, SUMED, the Ministry of Petroleum, and the MEDOR refinery. Al-Mula noted that Western Desert crude will not be exported all at once, but through a gradual process. Estimated production from the Western Desert fields stands at about 55% of Egyptian crude production, which amounts to about 680,000 barrels per day.
