Kuwaiti, Egyptian firms sign $6.8bn MoUs for petrochemical projects

Several Kuwaiti and Egyptian companies signed memorandums of understanding for petrochemical and phosphate fertilizer projects worth a total of around USD 6.8 billion, said local reports on Sunday.
These include the construction of a propylene production plant, a petrochemical and refinery facility, a formaldehyde production facility and a phosphate and compound fertilizer plant, read an Egyptian cabinet statement.
The propylene production plant, which will make use of locally abundant propane, has an investment cost of around USD 2.5 billion, with work on the project to commence in 2020.
It will aim to launch products of a "high added value", said the statement, along with offering locals job opportunities.
Referring to the petrochemicals and refinery facility, the statement said that its first phase will cost an estimated USD 3 billion, and will produce "petrochemical products of a high economic value." The resulting products will aim to cover local demand, the surplus of which will be shipped abroad, added the official Egyptian statement.
On the formaldehyde production plant, it said that the estimated cost is around USD 100 million, and will produce 70,000 tonnes-a-year of the organic compound and its derivatives.
The plant will also utilize around 30,000 tonnes-a-year of methanol and urea.
The phosphate and compound fertilizer plant, which will cost an estimated USD 1.2 billion, will produce phosphate and compound fertilizer, and phosphoric acid through theutilization of around three million tonnes-a-year of phosphate.
The projects are set to be announced at the Egypt Economic Development Conference due in March as part of the list of projects offered by the Egyptian petroleum sector.
Commenting after the signing ceremony of the MoUs in question, Kuwait Industries Union chairman Hussain Al-Kharafi was quoted as saying that the projects will have a "huge return on offering around 28,000 direct and indirect job opportunities." They will also increase Egypt's petroleum derivative production capabilities, he said, which will do much to cover local demand and open the doors to exports.
The Kuwaiti side is "enthusiastic to begin the projects" after sensing support extended from the Kuwaiti and Egyptian leaderships and following the political stability Egypt is currently witnessing, Al-Kharafi also suggested.