The Egyptian Oil Ministry has revealed that the memorandum of understanding between Saudi Aramco and the country’s SUMED pipeline operator is able to transform the Sidi Kerir port on the Mediterranean coast into a regional center for the sale of Saudi crude to Europe.

The agreement is to boost the capacity of Saudi oil transported via the SUMED pipeline from the Ain Sukhna terminal on Egypt's Red Sea coast to Aramco's customers in Europe, allow Saudi Aramco to use the SUMED's facilities to store Saudi oil as well as use its new storage projects as a distribution point for Aramco's butane gas sales in Egypt and nearby countries, Trade Arabia reports.

The Ministry also announced that the country is executing quite a few projects which includes constructing warehouses in Ain Sukhna to trade butane gas and fuel oil and also constructing a maritime harbor to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and tankers of liquefied petroleum gas.

SUMED is partly owned by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates while Qatar owns the rest.

Anita Fatunji