Page 6 - AfrOil Week 06 2021

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

Egypt expects re-opening of EAPC

to have little effect on Suez Canal

EGYPT EGYPT expects the return of Israel’s Eilat-Ash- part of Abu Dhabi-based National Holding, the
kelon crude oil pipeline to operation to have a Israeli company AF Entrepreneurship, and the
limited impact on revenues from Suez Canal international infrastructure and energy com-
transits, affecting less than 1% of the waterway’s pany Lubber Line. ™
annual income, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA)
said in a media statement.
The re-opening of the pipeline is expected to
have an impact on only 12% to 16% of the crude
oil travelling to the north, the statement said.
This constitutes just 0.61% of total shipments
going through the Suez Canal, roughly equiv-
alent to the amount of oil from the UAE that
transits the canal, it said.
Meanwhile, SCA noted, the rest of the traf-
fic through the strategic waterway, the shortest
transport route between Europe and Asia, con-
sists of container ships, which generate 50% of
revenues, while dry bulk account for another
17% and car carriers 4%. Petroleum prod-
ucts account for 12% and LNG for 5% of total
revenue, it said. Crude oil income comprises
only 6.5% of the canal’s total annual revenue of
$5.61bn in 2020, it added.
The old pipeline, which was built in the 1960s
to transport Iranian oil to Israel, is being repur-
posed by its new owner, Europe Asia Pipeline
Co. (EAPC). The company is taking these steps
to help RED MED Land Bridge Co., a joint
venture between Israel and the United Arab
Emirates, to transport crude oil and petroleum
products originating in the UAE from the Red
Sea to the Mediterranean.
MED-RED is jointly owned by Petromal, The pipeline links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean (Image: EAPC)

Ethiopia breaks ground on new

railway to improve fuel distribution

ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIA launched construction on February country, Ethiopian Transport Minister Awol
1 of a Chinese-backed railway project expected Wagais said at a launch ceremony. The new line
to improve fuel distribution across the country. will reduce the time to only eight hours, he said.
The railway will run from Djibouti, where The railway is slated to handle up to 1.3mn
fuel is imported, to the central Ethiopian town tonnes per year (tpy) of fuel, and the number of
of Awash. The project’s contractor, China Civil oil tanker trains using the line each day will be
Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC), is trebled in the future to six. It will replace an older
set to finish construction in nine to 12 months. line that will be decommissioned.
It currently takes three or four days for fuel Ethiopia uses diesel to fuel vehicles and
supplies to reach central Ethiopia from Djibouti, small-scale generators and in the agriculture
and this results in shortages in some parts of the industry.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 06 10•February•2021