State-owned Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC) is building a USD 450 mn facility to produce high octane fuels with a total capacity of 660k tonnes a year, ASORC head Mahmoud El Shaboury said. El Shaboury didn’t specify a time, but added that the project is currently 40% complete. Assiut National Oil Processing Company — a company founded last year by ASORC, the EGPC and other government-affiliated entities — is also gearing up to break ground on a USD 1.9 bn hydrocracking facility, but is still in the early design and financing phase. We noted earlier this year that the Oil Ministry is working to improve the quality of produced fuels, which will see the government spend USD 9 bn on upgrading refineries.