Page 11 - DMEA Week 07 2022

DMEA FINANCE & INVESTMENT DMEA

Consortium agrees to

finance Assiut hydrocracker

AFRICA A consortium of six international financial insti- the target market.
tutions has agreed to provide a $1.6bn financing The National Bank of Egypt and the National
facility to fund the establishment costs of the Bank of Kuwait are acting as the financial advisor
Assiut Hydrocracking Complex. for the project. Credit Agricole is also acting as
The international banking consortium con- the structuring bank and general co-ordinator
sists of Italian savings bank/development finan- for financing, and HSBC is acting as the general
cial institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Credit agent for the facilities.
Agricole for Investment and Finance, UniCredit In October, project manager Assiut National
Italy, HSBC Middle East, BNP Paribas France Oil Processing Co. (ANOPC) signed a mem-
and Societe Generale France. orandum of understanding (MoU) with local
The diesel hydrocracking complex works to firms Engineering for Petroleum and Process
convert the low-value mazut produced from Industries (ENPPI) and Petroleum Projects
refining operations at the Assiut Petroleum and Technical Consultations Co. (Petrojet) for
Refining Company plant into high value-added the development of a new atmospheric distil-
petroleum products with international envi- lation unit (ADU), while a year ago, Technip-
ronmental specifications such as diesel with FMC completed preparations for engineering,
European specifications (Euro 5) and butane in procurement and construction (EPC) of a new
quantities that could achieve self-sufficiency in hydrocracker at the facility.
diesel production in Upper Egypt. The overall project will increase the refin-
The project is part of the Egyptian petroleum ery’s throughput capacity from 100,000 bpd
ministry’s strategic plan to modernise the refin- to 160,000 bpd and raise the output of Euro-5
ing sector to achieve self-sufficiency and adhere standard products. The expansion includes the
to international environmental standards. construction of new crude and vacuum dis-
The building of the hydrocracking complex tillation units (CDU & VDU), a diesel hydro-
is in line with the state’s strategy to reduce the treater, a hydrogen unit, solvent de-asphalting.
country’s refined petroleum products import The capacities of existing naphtha hydrotreater,
bill by around $1.5bn annually in addition to naphtha splitter, isomerisation, hydrocracker,
decreasing logistical expenses as the product is LPG treatment & recovery and sulphur plants
manufactured in the same geographical scope of are also being expanded.™

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