Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, affirmed that El Hamra Petroleum Port has become one of the strategic pillars of Egypt's petroleum infrastructure. He stressed that the port has evolved beyond serving as a crude oil terminal to emerge as a regional platform attracting foreign investment and a cornerstone in Egypt's plans to position itself as a hub for energy trade and distribution, thanks to its prime location and expanding storage capacities. Badawi's remarks came during the general assemblies of the Western Desert Operating Petroleum Company (WEPCO), which manages El Hamra Port in Alamein, and the Badr Petroleum Company (BAPETCO), convened to approve the results of the 2024/2025 fiscal year in the presence of senior petroleum sector officials. The Minister directed that development works at the port be accelerated in cooperation with officials from the UAE's Fujairah Port, drawing on their expertise and proven experience. The aim, he said, is to position El Hamra among the world's leading energy trade ports on the Mediterranean coast. He also underscored the importance of proactive environmental protection measures as a top priority in petroleum operations. Ibrahim Massoud, Chairperson of WEPCO, highlighted the port's pivotal role in receiving and handling crude oil, noting that it processed around 74 million barrels during the 2024/2025 fiscal year. He reviewed progress on the northern expansion works being implemented by Petrojet, as well as southern expansion projects designed to transform the port into a petroleum products distribution hub, with storage capacity reaching 130,000 tonnes to serve Alamein and the northwestern coast. During BAPETCO's general assembly, the Petroleum Minister praised the company's staff for their success in boosting production rates. He affirmed the Ministry's and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation's (EGPC) full support to accelerate production from newly discovered wells. Salah Abdel Karim, Chairperson of EGPC, noted that Badr Petroleum ranked first among the top five companies achieving the highest production growth this year. In the same context, Ibrahim Massoud announced a significant milestone at the Badr-1 concession area, where production reached 143% of the target plan, with total daily output amounting to 6,440 barrels of oil equivalent. He added that two exploratory wells and two development wells had been drilled, increasing production capacity and adding an estimated 10 million barrels of proven oil equivalent reserves.
