Oil Ministry: MOU signed to finance project to produce Methanol derivatives

CAIRO - 16 October 2018: Minister of Oil Tarek El Mulla witnessed on Tuesday the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Suez Company for Methanol Derivatives and Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) on measures to finance a project to produce methanol derivatives with investments worth dlrs 35 to 40 million.

Chairman of Suez Company for Methanol Derivatives Gawdat el Sadeq and APICORP Managing Director Nicolas Thévenot signed the MOU.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Mulla asserted that the MOU's signing gives a strong impetus to this vital project that will be considered an addition to the Egyptian petrochemicals industry so as to provide methanol products to the local market.

He also said the project comes in line with the ministry's strategy to diversify financing sources of oil projects to reduce the need for hard currency and push forward economic development.

Suez Company For Methanol Derivatives Chairman Gawdat el Sadeq, for his part, said, the project's total investments are estimated at dlrs 60 million, 40 percent of which will be provided via major shareholders, while 60 percent will be in the form of soft loans.

The project will be set up on an area of 100,000 square meters inside Damietta Harbor on a land allocated to the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), he added.

The project aims at producing 18,000 tons of Urea-formaldehyde with a 85 percent concentration, also known as urea-methanal, which is used in the production of cement, along with 34,000 tons of Urea-formaldehyde of 65 percent concentration used in the making of ready cement blocs in addition to other chemical products.