Minister of Petrolem and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Mulla said that the petroleum sector is currently studying the establishment of new projects in the petrochemical sector to increase the economic revenues of the state, next to maximising the added value of petroleum wealth. He noted that the political leadership inauguration of the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO) and Misr Fertilisers Production Company (MOPCO) in 2016 conveys a message of reassurance to investors of the sector and strong support to the petroleum sector to provide investment opportunities in the petrochemicals industry. He stressed the need for the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) to continue benefiting from the results of scientific research and linking the scientific research system to the industrial application in Egypt in light of developing these promising industries. This came during the minister's leading the general assembly of ECHEM to adopt the results of the fiscal year 2016/2017. According to El-Mulla, the development of the performance of the Egyptian petrochemical industries is one of the most important aspects to turn Egypt into a regional hub for the trade of energy; hence, the petroleum sector is working on the development of new petrochemical industries in Suez, Damietta, and Alexandria, as well as developing a number of projects to increase the capacities of a number of existing projects to boost production or adjust performance with regards to environmental protection and labour safety. The minister also urged the need to continue providing the appropriate training for employees and raise their efficiency, next to taking faster steps to implement the project to maximise the economic benefit from natural gas, which will see a breakthrough in the coming year. During the assembly, activities of ECHEM were reviewed throughout the year, highlighting three main axes of work: completing the implementation underway to develop added value, improve the performance of the existing projects, and conduct studies on future projects. The assembly also discussed the ETHYDCO complex project and MOPCO's fertiliser expansions, which have been recently inaugurated and contributed to strengthening the petrochemicals industries by adding more production capacity and adopting new technologies that will boost the revenues of the industries to EGP 1.14bn, up by EGP 646m from last year, due to the increased sales volume. In addition, the assembly reviewed the status of the current and potential project, including the project being studied in cooperation with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to establish a refinery and petrochemicals complex in Suez, as well as the propylene and derivatives production project in the Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Co. (SIDPEC) site in Alexandria, along with the methanol derivates production plant in cooperation with Suez Petroleum Services Company. Engineering designs are now being completed for the establishment of a marine berth, storage, and shipping facilities in Damietta port, with an investment cost of $160m. This project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020, which would also maximize MOPCO's exports of urea and ammonia. Finally, the company, in cooperation with the Academy of Scientific Research & Technology and the National Research Centre, is implementing a project at the Egyptian Petrochemicals Company to produce new, high-quality products of emulsions of styrene, which enter many industrial applications, such as paint, textile, and paper manufacturing.
