On 4 October a framework agreement was signed at the Cabinet headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, to establish a USD3 billion project to produce green fuel and its derivatives in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) at Shokha south of Suez.
The agreement was signed by the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone; the Sovereign Fund of Egypt; the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA); the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC); and C2X Company. C2X was recently established as an arm of A.P. Moller Maersk; it looks to establish projects to produce green methanol and its derivatives.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly attended the signing ceremony, along with Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker; Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala Al-Saeed; and a number of high-ranking officials. The new project is aimed for ship bunkering supplies and to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Representing SCZONE in the signing of the agreement was its Chairman, Waleid Gamal El-Dein; the Sovereign Fund of Egypt was represented by Ayman Soliman, its Executive Director; Engineer Sabah Mashaly, President of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company represented EETC; from NREA, its Executive Chairman Mohammed El Khayat; and from C2X, its CEO Brian Davis.
Following the signing ceremony, PM Madbouly confirmed that the agreement comes within the framework of the State and the government’s efforts to expand the production of clean energy, including green methanol and green ammonia, in order to serve the ship bunkering sector in particular.
Regarding the new project for which the framework agreement was signed, Mr Gamal El-Dein, Chairman of SCZONE said that the first phase of the project is looking to produce an annual 300,000 tons of green methanol, so that by the later stages, production capacity would reach one million tons annually. The project’s location has the potential to reach this production capacity, Mr Gamal El-Dein confirmed.
The agreement is the 10th framework agreement within the MoUs signed by SCZONE, Mr Gamal El-Dein pointed out, reminding that last March SCZONE signed a framework agreement with Maersk.
Mr Gamal El-Dein said that SCZONE is very keen on the transformation to green economy along with all its industrial applications including the production of green fuel. He pointed out that SCZONE is very well placed and has good potential to produce, store and dispatch green fuel.
For his part, Mr Davis thanked the Egyptian government and all the parties involved in the recent agreement for their support, and expressed his aspiration for continued cooperation in order to make the project a success, “which we can all be proud of.”
“The agreement is a milestone in our endeavour towards the global transition to green fuels,” Mr Davis said, reminding of Egypt’s natural advantages which enhance “a world-class green methanol project”. The advantages, Mr Davis said, include access to excellent quality renewable energy sources, and the Suez Canal, the most important trade channel.
The Maersk group has a goal of reaching net zero by 2040.
PM Madbouly had a meeting with Mr Davis. The PM expressed his happiness at the agreement signed, and stressed the State’s keenness to provide all the support and facilities needed to honour the time frame of the agreement.
Watani International
4 October 2023