Egypt to invest $14.5B in petchems, refining over five years

Egypt plans to invest $14.5 billion in developing its refining and petrochemicals sectors over the next five years, its oil minister said, as part of efforts to overcome an energy crisis that has led to near-daily power cuts and hit company profits.

It is also considering floating stakes in some state-owned oil companies on the Egyptian stock exchange.

Sherif Ismail told Reuters in an interview that Egypt was trying to boost its output of refined oil products by 5-10 percent each year, hoping to reduce its dependence on costly imports.

“Total investments that will be implemented over the next five years will be around $14.5 billion and include $12.5 billion in the refining sector and $1.9 billion in the ETHYDCO project,” Ismail said, referring to a new complex that will produce ethylene and other petrochemicals.