Egyptian investment firm Qalaa Holdings says start-up at its $4.3bn, 81,500 b/d Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) hydrocracker project at Musturud on the outskirts of Cairo is “imminent” with “overall construction progress of c.98.8% as of December 2018.”

“In recent weeks, ERC has tested and commissioned both diesel and naphtha hydro-treaters, both of which have come back showing positive results, and with all the refinery’s utilities now functioning optimally,” Qalaa Chairman Ahmed Heikal says in the company’s latest corporate filing, dated 22 December but posted on the company’s website 3 January. “ERC is set to reach full production in 2H19,” the company adds. (CONTINUED - 226 WORDS)