The key asset of Egyptian conglomerate Qalaa Holdings, the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) 81,500 b/d hydrocracker-based refining complex in Cairo, finally came fully onstream last August (MEES, 27 September 2019).

Throughputs ramped up in Q4 last year, and had an immediate impact on the country’s products balance (MEES, 22 November 2019). The country’s products output figures have hit a series of records since including an all-time high of 668,000 b/d for January (MEES, 24 April) as ERC hit 100% capacity. The plant has since “been operating at 100% capacity utilization with all processes running smoothly” Qalaa Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal says in an update issued alongside Qalaa’s Q1 results on 1 July. (CONTINUED - 865 WORDS)