In a press release to Egypt Oil&Gas, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, stated that the petrochemical sector is one of the country’s strategic industries, as it aims to add value to the nation’s petroleum wealth. Furthermore, Egyptian President, Abd El Fattah El Sisi, encouraged the development of the sector by launching recent ethylene and derivatives projects, worth $4b in investments.

El Molla added that the petroleum sector succeeded in executing 7 petrochemical projects worth $7.5b with total capacities around 5mt/y of petrochemical products to cover market demands and achieve profits worth $3b annually.

The minister’s statement came during the General Assembly for the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) to review its fiscal results for 2015/2016.

ECHEM’s CEO, Mohamed Saafan, explained that the company performed necessary upgrades to increase production, reduce costs, and eventually boost profits. He drew attention to the the Egyptian Styrene & Polystyrene Production Company (E.Styrenics) enhancement activities. The work performed was required to revive the factory after a year and half of closure. The facility has a production capacity of 10,000 tons of polystyrene.

Saafan mentioned future plans to produce propylene derivatives via Sidpec Company, formaldehyde derivatives, adhesives, medium-density fibre-board (MDF), and styrene.