Ibrahim Massoud, Chairman of the Western Desert Operating Petroleum Company (WEPCO), operator of El Hamra Petroleum Port, announced that the port is targeting a trading volume of approximately 88 million barrels per year (mmbbl/y) for the fiscal year (FY) 2026/27. This throughput, facilitated by the port’s offshore facilities and pipeline network, will average 240,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), marking a significant increase in trading activity.

These targets were unveiled during WEPCO’s general assembly meeting to approve the FY 2026/27 investment plan. The session also reviewed amendments to the FY 2025/26 budget to account for extensive expansion works aimed at boosting crude oil and petroleum product storage, alongside enhanced trading operations.

Massoud added that the port aims to trade 31 million barrels of crude oil through its offshore marine facilities. This strategy includes expanding the reception, unloading, and storage of international shipments for third-party clients. Furthermore, WEPCO plans to double its leased storage capacity to 300,000 cubic meters, after bringing two new warehouses into service.

He pointed to progress in expansion plans set in 2025 with the aim to increase crude storage capacity to 5.3 mmbbl, compared to about 2.8 mmbbl. This is in addition to establishing an integrated area for the storage and trading of petroleum products, including northern expansions for crude oil and products storage and southern expansions with a capacity of about 130,000 tons of petroleum products.

Chairing the general assembly meeting, Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, emphasized the importance of maximizing the benefits of El Hamra Port’s location and infrastructure, and moving forward with the plan to transform it into a regional logistics hub for oil storage and handling on the Mediterranean coast, while providing full support to optimize the port’s storage and handling capacities.

He also praised the efforts of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and WEPCO in activating the first phase of crude storage and trading operations at the port. Notably, the second phase is expected to be completed in the second quarter (Q2) of this year and includes six tanks for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Egypt and the Emirate of Fujairah signed in October an agreement to establish a company responsible for developing a logistics zone in the Mediterranean basin at El-Alamein. The project aims to store and trade petroleum products in the Mediterranean, and involves upgrading and expanding El-Hamra Port in cooperation with the Fujairah Oil and Gas Corporation.