Assiut Oil Refinery secured around 65% of the petroleum products needs in Upper Egypt as it refined 2.6 million tons of crude oil in fiscal year (FY) 2020/21, producing worth $945 million of petroleum products, Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC)’s chairman, Maged El Kordy, stated.

The petroleum products included high-octane benzene, naphtha, diesel, butane, and jet fuel, which witnessed an increase in the quantities produced from these high-value products to meet the local consumption.

The results were declared during the general assembly meeting chaired by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to review ASORC’s performance in 2020/21, the ministry said in a statement.

The hydrogen produced from the new project was also used as fuel for furnaces, as part of the country’s plans to expand by relying on clean energy, El Kordy noted.

El Kordy pointed out that over EGP 1.3 billion were invested in the fields of development, replacement, renewal, and support for safety and environmental protection systems in light of the ministry’s strategy in this regard.

These investments were further used for establishing new warehouses for diesel, jet fuel and others, as well as the comprehensive development of current production units, digital transformation projects for the application of resource and asset management systems, and linear programming for petroleum refineries.

The large and unprecedented projects that the Assiut region is witnessing in the field of the refining industry will enable it to secure the needs of the governorates of Upper Egypt from petroleum products and fuel supplies after the completion of the new projects that come within the framework of the state’s strategy and the strategic plan of the Ministry of Petroleum to develop the refining industry, El Molla said. He pointed out that trial operations have started at the high-octane benzene production complex at the Assiut oil refinery with an investment cost of $450 million.