Egypt: New refinery closes in on $2.3bn debt package

A GRASS-roots Egyptian refining project has accumulated $2.3bn in debt financing from a consortium led by Asian lenders

At a time when the European and US refining industries are struggling (PE 4/10 p2), a group of international export credit agencies and commercial lenders will provide Egyptian Refining (ERC) with $2.3bn towards the development of its $3.7bn, 80,000 barrels a day (b/d) Citadel refinery project. The plant – to be constructed alongside the 140,000 b/d Mostorod refinery, 10 km north of Cairo – will supply the local market with up to 40,000 b/d of high-quality, low-sulphur diesel, from September 2011. The facilities, including a vacuum distillation unit and a hydrocracker, will process atmospheric residue from the Mostorod plant. The debt features direct lending and/or debt cover from Japan Ban