The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral resources, Tarek El Molla, has checked the trial operation of the new complex project for producing high value petroleum products owned by the Egyptian Refinery Company (ERC), a press release reported.

The project was implemented in cooperation with the private sector at a cost of $4.3 billion. Its full capacity production expected to reach 4.7 million ton yearly of high value petroleum products like high octane and diesel under Euro 5 standards as well as butane, airplane fuel and naphtha.

During his visit to the complex, El Molla stressed that the project is one of the most recent  important major petroleum projects which came in line with the ministry’s program to develop refining industry and increase Egypt’s refining capacity and its production capacities of petroleum products to secure the needs of local market.

He added that the ministry is going to implement several new refining projects under this program in Alexandria, Assiut and Suez to fulfill the market needs noting that this project is an excellent model for transforming low value mazut into high quality petroleum products.

El Molla praised the cooperation between the state and the private sector in implementing this vital project pointing to its success as a motivation for establishing similar projects.

The Minister checked, during his visit, the trial operation for the hydro cracking units of mazut, carbonization, vacuum distillation, sulfur treatment, naphtha reforming, diesel treatment, hydrogen production unit, complex infrastructure and wastewater treatment unit. The complex production relies on mazut produced by the Cairo refinery.