OCP certifies low cadmium phosphates

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi and New Valley Governor, Mohamed Al-Zamlout were present at the signing of a framework agreement between a consortium of Egyptian public companies to build a new phosphoric acid plant at Abu Tartour in the New Valley region. The project aims to maximise added value and increasing the economic return on Egyptian phosphate ore by using it in higher-yield industries rather than exporting it as a raw material. The Egyptian state-owned consortium includes Abu Qir Fertilizers; East Gas Company, Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority; Misr Phosphate, AT-PHOS, Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company (PETROJET), and Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), all of which are shareholders in the project. The contractor agreement was signed with a Chinese consortium of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and East China Engineering Science and Technology Co (ECEC).

Saipem has won a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from Sonatrach for an integrated phosphate fertilizer project in Algeria. The contract was awarded through a dual competitive process, enabling the design work to be conducted by both Saipem and a competitor company. Sonatrach will assess and compare the two FEED options from both parties, select the best technical and economic design, and then proceed with the direct award of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to execute the project.

The Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with El Sewedy Capital Investments to establish a partnership for the exploration, exploitation, and production of phosphate rock in the El-Sebaeya region of the Nile valley, with downstream beneficiation and a feasibility study for establishing a factory to produce phosphate fertilizers.