The Energy and Environment Committee of the House of Representatives, headed by MP Talaat Al-Suwaidi, approved on Sunday a draft law of the government to extend the term of the Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED). Hisham Lutfi, representative of the Ministry of Petroleum, said that the company has established a port for liquefied natural gas vessels in Ain Sokhna, in the context of maintaining relations with investors. During the meeting, Al-Suwaidi said that under the proposed draft law, SUMED's terms are lengthened by 27 years, starting from the end of the term in Law No. 10 for 1992. The draft law submitted by the government comes within the framework of a recommendation issued by SUMED's general assembly, held on 22 April 2017, to extend the terms by 27 more years, considering the company's current project to establish a sea pier and a terminal for the trading, transportation, and storage of petroleum products, natural gas, liquefied petroleum products, petrochemicals, and ship fuel supply at the company's port in Ain Sokhna. This project costs $415m. The company is also planning to implement future projects between 2020 and 2030, aiming to develop its activities across different fields and to achieve the state's vision of making Egypt a regional and international hub in the energy sector. The explanatory memorandum submitted by the Minister of Petroleum confirmed that SUMED is an Egyptian joint stock company under Law No. 7 for 1974. The company has capital worth $400m. Egypt, represented by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) contributed 50% of the capital. The other half was secured from national and public companies and institutions in the oil sector from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The aim, at the time, was to find a joint venture between Egypt and the Gulf to store and transport Arab petroleum and to export it through SUMED port on the Gulf of Suez to Egypt's ports on the Mediterranean Sea.
