The Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO) held a general assembly meeting to approve its 2021 business results, as the company’s petrochemical production complex in Alexandria, which was inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in 2017, is one of the most important projects in this industry.

The general assembly was attended by Saad Helal, Chairman of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), Magdy Galal, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS)’ Chairman, and Alaa El Batal, Chairman of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

During the meeting, ETHYDCO’s Chairman Mohamed Ali Hassanein reviewed the most important milestones achieved, explaining that the company had produced more than 274,000 tons of ethylene. He highlighted that this contributed to meeting the needs of projects in a number of oil sector companies, such as Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company (SIDPEC) and Egyptian Petrochemicals Company (EPC).

Additionally, over 280,000 tons of polyethylene were produced to cover the local market’s demands and export to foreign markets with a sales volume of EGP 7.1 billion, Hassanein stated. He also discussed the opening of new markets to export the company’s products this year in a number of countries such as Sri Lanka, Canada, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Gambia, and Burkina Faso.

The positive outcome discussed in the meeting contributed to an increase in sales revenues to about $2.1 billion from 2017 when production started till 2021, in quantities of about 1.7 million tons of polyethylene and 224,000 tons of secondary products. This enhanced the position of the ETHYDCO complex as a major conduit for maximizing the added value of natural gas, and using it as a raw material in the petrochemical industry.

During 2021, ETHYDCO maintained its outstanding record free of injuries and accidents by following the highest health safety and environment (HSE) standards in accordance with the strategy of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. These standards were upheld in order to preserve workers and assets, which led to achieving more than 2.3 million safe working hours during the year and preserving the integrity of its assets, Hassanein noted.

As a culmination of these efforts, ETHYDCO succeeded in being the first Egyptian company to obtain a performance certificate in operational safety, after the international company DNV-GL performed a comprehensive evaluation of the company’s process safety system.