The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, gave the green light for the operation of the Ras Bakr pipeline in Assiut, while visiting the High Octane-Benzene complex in Assiut to follow up with its executive position, according to a press release.

He declared that the 155-kilometer-pipeline aims at increasing the butane quantity transmitted to Upper Egypt by a 54%, from 2,600 tons per day to 4,000 tons per day.

The minister added that this project is considered one of the most important projects in updating the infrastructure including the pipeline networks and butane transmissions. He pointed out that it will contribute to fulfill most of the butane demand in that region.

In the same sequence, El Molla visited the site of the high octane-benzene complex of Assiut Oil Refining Company to check its establishment’s updates.

He added that this project is co-operated by Enppi and Petrojet in cooperation with high specialized international companies, with investment costs of $450 million and a capacity of 600,000 ton per year

El Molla noted that this visit was to speed up the project according to its timeline, which contributes to achieving self-sufficiency of high-quality petroleum products in Upper Egypt.

Additionally, he said that these new refinery projects are aiming at filling the gap between the locally produced petroleum products and the exported ones.