EBRD offers $50m loan to upgrade SOPC oil refinery in Egypt

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing support to Egypt’s greener oil and gas sector with a $50 million loan to upgrade the oil refinery owned by Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC).

The proceeds from the loan will be utilized for improvements of the operational efficiency of the Egyptian oil refinery which will help SOPC to introduce cleaner fuel. The steps to be taken in this regard are expected to bring down CO2 emissions by 289,000 tonnes, thereby improving the air quality in Egypt, said EBRD.

In May 2018, EBRD had granted a $200 million loan to Egypt to be on-lent to SOPC and its parent company – the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC). With these funds, SOPC will be able to realign the supply and demand of higher value-added oil products and bring down the necessity for imports.

Ever since EBRD started its operations in Egypt in 2012, the bank has invested more than €5.5 billion across 102 projects in the country. The bank is one of the first international financial institutions to support the improvements in the Egyptian oil and gas sector and the country’s efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.