Page 11 - DMEA Week 44 2021

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Assiut leads Egypt’s

refining progress

AFRICA ANNOUNCEMENTS this week suggest that a year ago, TechnipFMC completed preparations
progress is being made across Egypt’s refining for engineering, procurement and construction
sector, which at around 830,000 barrels per day (EPC) of a new hydrocracker at the facility.
(bpd) has Africa’s highest capacity. The overall project will increase the refin-
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral ery’s throughput capacity from 100,000 bpd
Resources said that the Assiut refinery expansion to 160,000 bpd and raise the output of Euro-5
project will fall under the ministry’s wider, $7bn standard products. The expansion includes the
project to upgrade existing facilities and add construction of new crude and vacuum distilla-
seven new refineries with a petroleum product tion units (CDU & VDU), a diesel hydrotreater, a
capacity of 6.2mn tonnes per year (125,000 bpd), hydrogen unit, solvent de-asphalting. The capac-
predominantly gasoline and diesel. ities of existing naphtha hydrotreater, naphtha
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources splitter, isomerisation, hydrocracker, LPG treat-
Tarek El-Molla said: “We are not a large oil pro- ment & recovery and sulphur plants are also
ducer, but we are doing well with refined prod- being expanded. Meanwhile, the European Bank
ucts. Instead of importing refined products, we for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is
prefer importing crude oil and refining it locally.” providing $250mn backing for a similar project
“The [Assiut] project aims to enlarge the to expand the capacity of the 100,000 bpd Mid-
capacity of high-value petroleum production dle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR) near Alexandria
with [to] international standard, particularly to 160,000 bpd, which El-Molla has said will be
the butane and diesel,” he added. In October, partially commissioned next year.
project manager Assiut National Oil Processing The EBRD is also providing a $50mn loan
Co. (ANOPC) signed a memorandum of under- to upgrade the Suez refinery to produce cleaner
standing (MoU) with local firms Engineering fuels and reduce emissions. Egypt is hoping to
for Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI) become self-sufficient in petrochemicals by
and Petroleum Projects and Technical Consul- 2023, with the wider downstream investment
tations Co. (Petrojet) for the development of a programme entailing a $14bn spend on both
new atmospheric distillation unit (ADU), while refining and petrochemicals.™

Duqm set for early 2023 start-up

MIDDLE EAST OMAN’S flagship Duqm refinery is now on vacuum gas oil. It will initially be dedicated to
course for commissioning during the first quar- processing crude oil from the tanks Ras Markaz
ter of 2023, with project completion now having storage facility, which is being developed to the
reached 87%. The update was provided in an south of Duqm. The capacity of the first phase of
interview with Oman News Agency by Yousuf the facility had been planned at 8mn barrels, but
Al-Jahdhami, head of project management at will now be constrained to 6mn barrels.
OQ8, a 50:50 joint venture between OQ and The Ras Markaz project has an ultimate tar-
Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI). get capacity of 200mn barrels and will be linked
The $8bn, 230,000 barrel per day (bpd) had to the refinery by an 80-km pipeline due to be
been anticipated to come on stream during 2022, commissioned this year, though a moratorium is
but the timeline has been further extended owing effectively in place over expansion of the facility.
to delays caused by coronavirus (COVID-19). In March, OQ announced that it had com-
Upon completion, 65% of its feedstock will pleted the construction of a $245.5mn gas
be provided by Kuwait, with local production supply conduit, connecting the refinery to
providing the balance. gas processing facilities at Saih Nihayda. The
When it comes into operation, the refinery 36-inch (914-mm) diameter, 221-km pipeline
will produce diesel, jet fuel, naphtha and LPG, has a throughput capacity of 25mn cubic metres
and will feature units for hydrocracking, hydro- per day, matching the total capacity of the Saih
treating, delayed coking, sulphur recovery, Nihayda Gas Plant (SNGP) once potential future
hydrogen generation and Merox treating. expansions are carried out. Meanwhile, Mam-
Meanwhile, it will use up to 30,000 bpd of moet was awarded a contract last year covering
heavy crude oil to produce 1mn tpy of bitumen, inland and sea transport of nine LPG storage
as well as 600,000 tpy of naphtha, distillates and tanks for EPC-2 offsite and utilities.™

Week 44 04•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11