She announced Ministry of Petroleum And Mineral Resources: Starting the activity of storing and trading crude oil and petroleum products on behalf of others in the Al-Hamra Petroleum Port in New Alamein, in an important step to support the state’s plans to transform the port into a regional logistical center for storing and trading oil on the Mediterranean coast, and maximizing the benefit of its strategic location and advanced infrastructure.
This came during the meeting of the ordinary and extraordinary general assemblies of the Western Desert Petroleum Company “WEPCO” and Badr Petroleum Company, headed by Engineer Karim Badawy, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, where the amended budget for the fiscal year 2025/2026 was approved for “WEPCO” after establishing the activity of storing and trading crude and petroleum products on behalf of others in the port area, which contributes to increasing the company’s revenues and enhancing its operational capacity during the coming period.
The minister stressed that the start of this activity represents an important step within the Ministry of Petroleum’s strategy to develop the infrastructure of the energy sector, and to transform the port of Al-Hamra into a pivotal center for storage and trading services, while providing full support to maximize the use of the capabilities available in the port and raise its operational efficiency, thus enhancing Egypt’s position as a regional center for energy trade and circulation in the region.
The Minister praised the efforts of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and WEPCO in activating the first crude storage and trading activity in the port, stressing the importance of continuing to implement development and expansion plans to make the most of the available capabilities.
For his part, Engineer Ibrahim Masoud, President of WEPCO, explained that the company plans to trade about 88 million barrels during the fiscal year 2026/2027 through marine facilities and pipelines, at an average of 240 thousand barrels per day, which reflects a noticeable increase in trading rates. He added that the company aims to trade about 31 million barrels of crude through marine facilities, in addition to expanding the reception, unloading and storage of shipments coming from abroad on behalf of others.
He pointed out that the company is also working to double the rented storage capacities to reach 300,000 cubic meters instead of 150,000 cubic metres, after bringing two new warehouses into service, in addition to implementing expansion projects to raise the crude storage capacity to about 5.3 million barrels, compared to about 2.8 million barrels currently. The expansions also include the establishment of an integrated area for storing and trading petroleum products, which includes the northern expansions for storing crude and products, and the southern expansions with a capacity of about 130 thousand tons of petroleum products.
In the context of preserving the marine environment, the President of WEPCO revealed the operation of a modern system to combat marine pollution in the port next week, stressing the company’s commitment to its societal role, including developing the Sidi Abdel Rahman School in Matrouh Governorate and qualifying it to obtain an international green building certificate.
During the General Assembly of Badr Petroleum Company, the Minister of Petroleum directed the preparation of studies to evaluate the opportunities for applying horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques in the company’s areas in the Western Desert, because of their important role in accessing untapped resources and creating a qualitative shift in production, especially in light of successful regional and international experiences in this field.
Company officials explained that the average production during the first half of the current fiscal year amounted to about 6,500 barrels of equivalent per day, with the drilling of two development wells that contributed to increasing gas production, and it is planned to put the second well on the production map during the near future. The company also reviewed its ambitious five-year plan to increase production and reserves, which includes adding two new concession areas in the Western Desert, expanding drilling wells in unconventional reservoirs in cooperation with international partners, in addition to applying the latest technologies to enhance production rates.
