State-owned company Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR) was meant to have signed yesterday the final contracts for a 10-year USD 1.2 bn syndicated loan from Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, and Italy’s CDP, sources said. The loan, which should carry an interest rate of 6%, will be used to finance USD 2.2 bn-worth of expansions at MIDOR’s refinery. The company expects to obtain a loan warranty from the Finance Ministry within a week and reach financial close before end-2018. MIDOR had reached a preliminary agreement for the loan amount back in 2016. Shearman & Sterling and Shalakany acted as legal advisers to the banking consortium, while Zaki Hashem & Partners and Descartes Solicitors advised the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the First Abu Dhabi Bank was financial adviser.