Egypt's Midor signs $1.2 billion loan agreement - REUTERS

Tue Feb 23, 2016, CAIRO

Feb 23 Egypt's state-owned Middle East Oil Refinery Company (Midor) has signed an initial loan agreement with three banks for $1.2 billion, the state news agency said on Tuesday.

The loan represents around 80 percent of the cost of its $1.4 billion Alexandria refinery lab expansion, while the remaining $230 million will be self-financed, Midor Chairman Mohamed Abdel Aziz said.

The agreement was signed by Abdel Aziz with the heads of a banking consortium that includes French banks Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas and Italy's CDP.

The expansion at Midor aims to increase the company's refining capacity to 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 100,000 bpd.

Egypt has struggled with soaring energy bills caused by high subsidies it provides on fuel for its population of more than 80 million.

Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas to finance Egypt's oil refinery expansion - AHRAM ONLINE

Egypt's petroleum minister Tarek El Molla during a 
meeting (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum website)

Ahram Online , Monday 4 Jan 2016

Egypt's oil refinery MIDOR will finance its planned expansion, borrowing $1.2 billion from French lenders Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas, a loan that will be guaranteed by the Italian central bank and the Italian export development authority, oil minister Tarek El-Molla told Egyptian state news daily Al-Ahram.

MIDOR signed in April two deals worth $1.4 billion with US-based engineering company UOP to design the expansion of the refinery, raising its capacity to 160,000 barrels per day from 100,000 barrels per day.

The project, which starts this year and will span over three years, would allow Egypt to cut its petroleum product imports and export refined oil products, raising sources of foreign currency, according to Al-Ahram.