Egypt signs deal for methanol project

16 May 2023

Egypt’s Alexandria National Refining & Petrochemicals Company (ANRPC) and the Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec have signed a $450m deal to build a green methanol plant, according to a statement published by Egypt’s petroleum ministry.

The facility will be developed in Damietta Port, on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta and will produce 40,000 tonnes of green methanol a year, which could be increased to 200,000 tonnes.

Tarek el-Molla, Egypt’s Petroleum & Mineral Resources Minister, said that the facility would be the first of its kind in the region.

Egypt’s petroleum ministry said it would encourage the shift to green energy and provide exports for the petrochemicals sector.

The project includes building renewable power sources with capacities of no less than 40MW for solar power and 120MW for wind power.

Scatec will build a 60MW hydrogen electrolyser, a desalination plant and methanol production and storage facilities.

It will also build facilities so that methanol can be loaded onto ships to be used as fuel.

Terje Pilskog, the chairman of Scatec, said the plan would put Egypt at the forefront of green chemicals manufacturing and make it a hub for green shipping fuel.

The company is already working on a green ammonia scheme in Damietta and a green hydrogen plant in the town of Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea.

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Wil Crisp
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