UOP LLC, a unit of a Honeywell International, has signed two contracts worth a total of $1.4 billion for the expansion of an oil refinery in El Amreya Free Zone, Alexandria, Egypt.
Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail last week attended a ceremony to mark the signing of the agreements between state-owned Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR) and UOP.
The U.S. company will provide engineering designs and licensing as part of a project that aims to increase the refinery's production capacity by 60 percent, from 100,000 to 160,000 barrels per day.
Mohamed Abdel Aziz, CEO of MIDOR, said that when the expansion is completed the annual production capacity of the refinery will reach up to 245,000 tons of butane gas, 1.3 million tons of gasoline, 3.2 million tons of diesel oil, 570,000 tons of coal and 135,000 tons of sulfur.
No details were given on the new units that will be added to the refinery, nor when the expansion is scheduled for completion.
Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum wants to develop the country's refineries to boost local production of petroleum products. Previously signed agreements include a Memorandum of Understanding between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the Jordanian-Egyptian FAJR Company, Daily News Egypt reported.
UOP specializes in technology for petroleum refining, gas processing and petrochemical production.
