MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) will finish a study conducted to produce propylene by the end of this year, said Dailynewsegypt.
ECHEM Vice-President Hussien Ismail said the project is worth USD2bn in investments, but refused to reveal the names of the international offices that are currently studying this project.
ECHEM is due to finish the ethylene production project estimated at USD1.9bn by the end of this year. Ismail told Daily News Egypt that the project will be operational by the end of this year, and will be funded by both the petroleum and banking sectors. A total of 460,000 tonnes of ethylene will be produced annually and provided to the local market.
The domestic and international petrochemicals industry provides the national economy with billions of dollars.
ECHEM is studying converting agricultural wastes to ethanol at a cost of investments at USD200m to USD300m, Ismail said, meaning the state will not need to import benzene.
He concluded that for every five tonnes of rice straw, one tonne of ethanol is saved, adding that different ministers have to cooperate to achieve this project.
As MRC informed earlier, Toyo Engineering has been jointly awarded with ENPPI, an engineering company under the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum, a contract to build a 400,000 tpa polyethylene plant in Egypt. The new facility will be a part of Ethydco's petrochemical complex to be established in Alexandria, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and owned by ETHYDCO (The Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company) under the investment law No. 8/1997 of Egypt. This will be the largest polyethylene plant in Egypt.
The Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) was established in January 2002. ECHEM priority is to enhance the growth of Petrochemical industry through implementing The National Petrochemicals Master Plan with the target of realizing the optimum utilization of natural gas in value added products. The Plan covers 14 complexes including 24 projects and 50 production units during the coming 20 years.MRC