The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced to provide US$200mn loan to help in energy efficiency and modernisation of the oil refinery owned by Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC) in Egypt
The plant, with a current capacity of 68,000 bopd, is situated at the entrance of the Suez Canal, adjacent to the city of Suez.
The finance from EBRD is expected to modernise the refinery with technical updates to improve its operational performance. The investment is also set to increase the flexibility of the plant’s crude intake and allow for the production of higher quality fuels and lower sulphur fuels.
The investment is in line with EBRD’s continuous support in boosting the North African country’s oil and gas sector and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in Egypt, thus contributing to energy security in the region.
Egypt, in spite of having huge refining capacity across Africa, lacks a modern downstream infrastructure to meet its growing domestic demand for petroleum products. Therefore, the North African nation is striving to upgrade its oil and gas refineries and attract energy efficiency investments from the international organisations to achieve a sustainable balance in the energy sector.
Commenting on the new project, Tarek El Molla, Egyptian minister of petroleum and mineral resources, said, “The project will contribute to one of the country’s main priorities in the ongoing oil and gas sector reform effort which is to optimise downstream performance and energy efficiency. The EBRD will also provide technical assistance, in addition to the US$200 million loan, which will support the sector-wide modernisation and reform programme which aims at reducing the fiscal deficit, attracting private sector capital and establishing a role model for improving public sector governance in Egypt.”
Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD and has been a country of operations since 2012. To date, the bank has invested US$4.22bn in 80 projects in the country.
