Egypt’s state petrochemicals firm Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) is progressing two big projects central to the state firm’s 2020-35 expansion plan. Meeting Egyptian petroleum minister Tarek El Molla on 14 September, Echem chairman Saad Helal said the firm is finalizing the procedures for a planned refining and petchems project at El Alamein having signed a studies agreement with Norwegian firm PSW.

 

This El Alamein complex is expected to cost $7.5bn and has capacity to produce 1mn t/y of petchems and 850,000 t/y of petroleum products.

 

Helal said that his company is rapidly working on implementing a number of seven new projects to the national plan for the period of 2020-2035.

 

These projects include one by Wood Technology Company for producing medium-density fibreboard (MDF) wood which is being installed and implemented by Petrojet, a methanol derivative production project which produce a capacity of 140 tons per year and is worth USD117 million, and a project by the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) for producing rubber polybutadiene at a capacity of 36,000 tons per year with costs USD183 million.

 

Helal further added that they are preparing a detailed feasibility study for Suez refining and petrochemical project which is worth USD7 billion, clarifying that these two projects are targeting to produce diverse petrochemical and petroleum products to meet the local market needs and export the surplus.

 

The chairman mentioned that the company is intensifying the efforts to economically improve the petrochemical complex in Al Nahda at Alexandria which will raise the productivity of the petroleum companies there.

 

Helal noted that ECHEM and its subsidiaries produced about four million tons of petrochemical products during the fiscal year (FY) of 2019/20 despite the challenges they faced, pointing that the company is keen on providing the needed funds to implement the national plan projects.