Egyptian firms are planning to expand their refining capacity and boost output of petroleum products, companies’ representatives stated at the Thirds Annual Energy Conference – Energy and Sustainable Development – as reported by Daily News Egypt.

The Cairo Oil Refining Company (CORC) is currently working on launching a new plant to refine about 4.2m tons of crude oil annually into liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other petroleum derivatives, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) Vice Chairperson, Zohdy Maarouf, said.

The Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR) is currently establishing new hydrocracking oil units with a capacity of 2,400 tons per year and $7.5b investments, Maarouf added.

The conference also addressed the impact of global market volatility on the oil industry and investment opportunities in the gas sector.

In related news, oil expert Mohamed Shoaib said that investing in the existing oil refinery plants will improve them, reduce production costs for the state, and make the state more competitive following the future liberalization of the energy market.

Egypt currently consumes about 73m tons of oil per annum, of which 33m tons is directed to the electricity sector, Shoaib said.

According to Vice Chairperson for Gas Regulatory Affairs at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Amira El–Mazni, the liberalization of the energy market will happen gradually, starting by issuing a gas law, setting up the system, after which consumers will choose their own suppliers.