Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi inspected the Sonker liquid bulk terminal at Sokhna Port on the Red Sea, as part of a visit to the petroleum facilities in the area on Saturday. During the visit, Badawi highlighted the project's importance. "The Sonker project is a significant and vital addition to the infrastructure for the transportation and handling of petroleum products," he said. He added that the terminal is equipped with advanced technology. "The Sonker terminal is built according to the latest technologies to achieve efficiency in operation and maintain safety and security," Abdelatty stated, reiterating the Ministry's support for projects that benefit all stakeholders through collaboration. In a statement released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the Sonker terminal, located in the third basin of Sokhna Port, was described as a strategic hub for Egypt on the Red Sea coast, alongside the SUMED facilities. These facilities are used for receiving, handling, and storing petroleum products and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is then re-gasified and pumped into the national grid. Badawi emphasised the government's commitment to developing and improving the efficiency of petroleum product storage and handling infrastructure, to enhance Egypt's role as a regional energy hub, and ensure a sustainable supply for the local market and various economic sectors. The Sonker terminal includes a specialised marine berth for receiving petroleum product and LNG tankers, and a storage area with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres for diesel and 150,000 cubic metres for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Diesel operations began in 2019, with LPG operations starting in 2020. The terminal also has three pipelines, including two 4.5 km pipelines for LPG and one 31 km pipeline for diesel, all connected to the national grid. The Minister and his delegation toured the storage area, marine berth, and control room of the Sonker terminal. They also reviewed the progress of a natural gas pipeline being constructed by GASCO to connect the Sonker facilities to the national gas grid. The 17 km pipeline, with a diameter of 36 inches, includes three new valve rooms and is being built by Petrojet. The Minister was accompanied by Alaa El-Batal, First Undersecretary of the Ministry and Supervisor of Environment, Safety, and Energy Efficiency; Yass Muhammad, CEO of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS); Salah Abdel Karim, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC); Khaled Osman, Assistant Minister for Commercial Affairs; Moataz Atef, Undersecretary of the Ministry for the Minister's Office, Technical Office, and Official Spokesman; Khaled El-Badri, Head of the Central Administration for Projects; Naser Shoman, Head of the Central Administration for Transportation and Marketing and Supervisor of Foreign Trade at EGPC; Osama El-Sharif, CEO of Sonker; Walid Lotfy, Chairman of Petrojet; Yasser Salah, Chairman of GASCO; and Osama El-Samanoudi and Muhammad Khodair, Vice Presidents of EGAS for Operations and Networks, and for Planning and Gas Delivery Projects, respectively.
