Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi has rejected claims that the objective of his visit to the United Arab Emirates was to discuss the Middle East Oil Refinery (Midor) oil refinery project with Gulf investors, reports London’s Al-Hayat newspaper.
Fahmi asserted that the Midor project, which was established by both Egyptian and Israeli investors, was not even discussed during his meetings in the UAE. He added that the project is privately run, and the Egyptian government has no connection to it.
Midor is 60 percent owned by the Egyptian General Petroleum and abroad Corp (EGPC), 20 percent by Israel`s Merhav Group, with the remaining shares held by the banking sector and other investors based in Egypt, including Hussein Salem, one of the initiators of the project.
It should be noted that, despite Fahmi’s claim of no involvement in the project by the Egyptian government, the Egyptian General Petroleum is state owned.
The refinery was built at a cost of over $1 billion near the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. –(MENA Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
