The state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Authority (EGPA) is currently in talks with Libyan businessmen in hopes of securing investment for the modernization of an oil refinery in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut.
According to EGPA CEO Abdel Azim Taha, Assiut boasts the only refinery in Upper Egypt that caters to industrial facilities and power stations using mazut–a heavy, low-quality oil–for fuel.
"We’re still in the early stages of negotiations," Taha said. "But we will announce all the details once we arrive at an agreement."
"Our aim is to increase the refinery’s production capacity from 2.3 million tons to 3.7 million tons of oil a year," he said.
Taha added that the Petroleum Ministry was currently working on boosting the capacity of all the country’s refineries from 31 million tons to 36 million tons a year in an effort to meet local demand and reduce Egypt’s reliance on imports.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
