**Engineer Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, accompanied by senior leaders of the petroleum sector, conducted an extensive inspection tour this morning, Saturday, of the Southern Upper Egypt Petroleum Geographical Area in Assiut Governorate.**
The area includes an integrated system for petroleum refining, fuel production, transportation, and distribution. The tour began with an inspection of the construction works of the new diesel production complex at Assiut National Oil Processing Company (ANOPC), followed by a review of operations across the integrated petroleum system in the companies of Assiut Oil Refining, Petroleum Pipelines, PetroGas, Cooperatives Petroleum, and Nile Petroleum.
During the tour, which started with a review of safety procedures, the Minister emphasized that Upper Egypt governorates are at the heart of petroleum projects, explaining that the major projects currently underway in the Southern Upper Egypt petroleum area aim to serve local communities. He noted that continuous development of infrastructure has a positive impact on Upper Egypt governorates by meeting demand for petroleum products, securing supplies more efficiently, creating job opportunities, and implementing community initiatives to support and serve local communities.
### Follow-up on the Construction of the Diesel Production Complex
Engineer Karim Badawi inspected the site of the new diesel production complex in Assiut, with an investment cost of USD 3 billion. The project is one of the most important national projects aimed at meeting Upper Egypt’s demand for petroleum products, especially high-quality diesel, and reducing imports.
The Minister reviewed the project’s master plan with the executing companies and listened to a briefing by Engineer Mohamed Badr, Chairman of ANOPC, on the progress of construction works being carried out by Technip in cooperation with the Egyptian companies ENPPI and Petrojet. He was briefed on the current implementation status and ongoing efforts to accelerate completion according to the project schedule, noting that the overall progress rate has reached approximately 78%.
### Inspection of Assiut Oil Refinery
The Minister conducted an inspection tour of the Assiut Oil Refinery, which secures about 70% of Upper Egypt’s consumption of petroleum products. The tour began with a review of operations at the high-octane gasoline production complex, the latest production complex at the refinery, inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the end of 2021. The complex supplies Upper Egypt governorates with around 800,000 tons of gasoline annually, reducing the cost and risks of transporting fuel by trucks from northern to southern Egypt.
The Minister reviewed the operational status of the complex from the main control room and listened to a presentation by Chemist Magdy El-Kordy, Chairman of Assiut Oil Refining Company, on the company’s role in supplying petroleum products to Upper Egypt through its three production complexes: two distillation units with a total refining capacity of 4.5 million tons per year, and the high-octane gasoline complex. He noted the maximization of fuel oil production during the past year to help meet the needs of power generation plants.
He also explained that work is underway to establish a third distillation complex, which will increase refining capacity to 9.5 million tons per year. The project, which also includes a butane (LPG) production unit, has reached a progress rate of 33%.
El-Kordy highlighted the refinery’s efforts in environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, noting that the refinery achieves zero liquid discharge thanks to its industrial wastewater treatment unit, with treated water reused to irrigate 80 feddans of jojoba plants cultivated to achieve environmental balance. He also pointed to efforts to establish a 10-MW solar power plant, funded by a European Union grant, for which the engineering design is currently being prepared by ENPPI and Petrojet.
Assiut Oil Refining Company also presented its efforts to enhance efficiency and develop the petroleum geographical area, as well as its community initiatives serving the governorate. These include supplying public and university hospitals with medical equipment, contributing to the construction of a critical care and emergency building at Al-Iman Hospital, establishing Saeed Abaza School for all educational stages on company land to serve nearby villages and areas, and implementing village tree-planting campaigns.
### Inspection of LPG Cylinder Filling Plant
During the Minister’s inspection of the LPG cylinder filling plant operated by PetroGas and its storage area serving Assiut and several southern governorates, Accountant Mohamed Farhat, Chairman of PetroGas, reviewed the plant’s role in meeting a significant portion of Upper Egypt’s needs. The plant produces around 70,000 household and commercial cylinders daily, while the area’s LPG storage capacity supplies filling plants in Minya, Assiut, and New Valley with quantities reaching up to 100,000 cylinders per day.
### Petroleum Pipelines: Arteries of Development in Upper Egypt
During his visit to the Petroleum Pipelines Company site in the area, Engineer Nabawy Mahmoud, Chairman of the company, highlighted its vital role as a link between receiving crude oil from the Red Sea region and delivering it to the Assiut Refinery. The company also receives petroleum products from the Assiut Refinery and Tebin area and delivers them to distribution companies in Minya, Assiut, and Sohag through an extensive pipeline network.
Additionally, it supplies fuel oil to the Walidiya Power Station and Assiut Cement Plant, delivers diesel to West Assiut Power Station, and receives LPG from the Red Sea region for delivery to PetroGas filling plants in Assiut and Sohag.
He explained that the Assiut Pipelines area includes four diesel storage tanks with a total capacity of 40,000 cubic meters and a main pumping station with flow rates reaching 500 cubic meters per hour.
### Inspection of Cooperatives Petroleum Depot in Assiut
Badawi also listened to a presentation by Accountant Nasser Shoman, Chairman of Cooperatives Petroleum Company, on the importance of the company’s depot in meeting a large portion of the petroleum product needs of Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Red Sea, and Aswan governorates. The depot includes two diesel tanks, two tanks for 80-octane gasoline, and two tanks for 92-octane gasoline, distributing 40 million liters monthly at a daily rate of 2.9 million liters.
### Inspection of Nile Petroleum Marketing Depot
During the inspection of operations at the Nile Petroleum Marketing Company depot, Engineer Ahmed Eid, Chairman of the company, explained that the depot operates fully automatically and digitally, covering around 80% of Upper Egypt’s needs. The depot includes a digital loading platform for tanker trucks, with eight gasoline loading arms and four diesel arms. Daily loading rates reach 300,000 liters of gasoline and one million liters of diesel.
The tour was attended by Geologist Alaa El-Batal, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, his deputy for refining Engineer Mohamed Ali Hassanein, his deputy for transportation and distribution Engineer Ayman Abdel-Badie, Engineer Hassanein Mohamed, Head of the Minister’s Office Central Administration, Engineer Mahmoud Nagy, Deputy Minister for Transportation and Marketing of Petroleum Products, Engineer Khaled El-Badry, Deputy Minister for Projects, Engineer Gamal Fathy, Minister’s Advisor for Occupational Safety and Health, and the chairmen of Petrojet, ENPPI, ANOPC, EPRM, Misr Petroleum, Cooperatives Petroleum, Nile Petroleum, Assiut Oil Refining, PetroGas, and Petroleum Pipelines companies.
