Shard Capital, Alqahtani Holding ink framework agreement for USD 7 bn petrochemical complex

UK-based Shard Capital and Saudi Arabia-based Alqahtani Holding inked a framework agreement for a USD 7 bn petrochemical production complex in New Alamein with the Oil Ministry-backed Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company and the Investment Ministry, the Oil Ministry said in a statement. When the project first came to light, it was reported that the facility would produce 1.5 mn tons of petrochemical products and another 1 mn tons of petroleum products, including kerosene and mazut, per year.

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REMEMBER- The project has been in the works for a while now, with the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company inking an agreement with a British consortium that included Shard Capital to develop the complex in 2020 — it was valued at USD 8.5 bn back then.

Alqahtani Holding is a relatively recent addition to the project: We first got word of the group’s involvement in the project last December from an Oil Ministry statement. When the project first emerged five years ago — also at the Egypt Energy Show — Shard’s private sector partner for the project was the UK’s BSW Group.

The project will be private sector led and private sector funded, with British, Emirati, and Saudi investors backing the project, Shard’s legal advisor Zaki Hashem said in a separate statement (pdf).

But there’s still a lot we don’t know about the project, including a timeline or how the ownership will be split.