Egypt’s President Sisi on 22 December inaugurated a continuous catalytic reforming (CCR) and isomerization complex at the 4.5mn t/y (90,000 b/d) Assiut refinery in southern Egypt.
Oil minister Tarek el Molla, speaking at the inauguration, says that the new units were built at a cost of EGP7bn ($450mn) and will produce 800,000 t/y (18,600 b/d) of high-octane gasoline, equal to the whole of demand in Upper (southern) Egypt. The additional capacity equates to 11% of Egypt’s overall 171,000 b/d gasoline consumption for the first 10 months of 2021. Domestic output has risen since the late-2019 start-up of ERC’s 81,500 b/d Cairo hydrocracker-based complex (MEES, 10 December 2021) but at 84,000 b/d for 10M 2021 equated to just half demand. (CONTINUED - 141 WORDS)