The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources suspended launching the stocks of Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR) on the stock market after it obtained the funds necessary for the company's expansion plans The funds were obtained from a bank loan, as well as contributions by the company's shareholders. Chairman and CEO of MIDOR Mohamed Abdel Aziz said, on the sidelines of the Intergas VII conference, that the decision to retreat is not linked to changes of stock prices. A source at the company said the shareholders have agreed to pump about $280m to implement planned expansions with units of the refining laboratory. The company is 78% owned by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), and 10% by Engineering Company for Petroleum and Chemical Industries (ENPI), in addition to the Petroleum Projects & Technical Consultations Co. (PETROJET), which owns 10%. The remaining 2% is owned by the Suez Canal Bank. The source added that the company has also obtained a loan from Italian Export Development Authority worth $1.2bn. He pointed out that MIDOR has signed a contract with the Italian company, Technip, to implement the project for increasing the capacity and performance of the refinery from 100,000 barrels per day to 160,000 barrels per day. He noted that the investments are worth $1.4bn. He added that the contract listed the Italian Export Development Authority as MIDOR's guarantor for obtaining the loan. The source explained that the planned expansions aim to increase the production of diesel fuel from 2m tonnes to 3.5m tonnes, and raise the gasoline production of high-octane rates from 1m tonnes to 1.5m tonnes. In addition, the expansion will increase the production of liquefied petroleum gas from 135,000 tonnes to 329,000 tonnes and the production of jet fuel from 900,000 tonnes to 1.7m tonnes. The Ministry of Petroleum has announced the launching of stocks for MIDOR, GASCOOL, and NPICO on the exchange market in April. However, none of the three companies' stocks have been offered on the market yet.
