Egypt’s General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Norwegian company Scatec. The MoU grants Scatec a license for ships’ bunkering with green fuel in East Port Said, marking an investment of approximately $1.1 billion.
The deal was signed by Walid Gamal El-Dien, the chairman of SCZONE, Alaa Hagar, Head of Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum’s Technical Office, and Terje Pilskog, CEO of Scatec ASA.
The signing ceremony occurred at the Conference of Partners on Climate Change (COP28) in the UAE. It was attended by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, and Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat. Representatives from the African Development Bank and the British International Investment were also present as witnesses.
The project, which is anticipated to be completed by 2027, includes clean energy generation with a production capacity of 100,000 tons per year of green methanol.
The electrolyzer’s power is set at 190 MW, leveraging 317 MW of wind power and 140 MW of solar power.
“The signing of a new MoU with Scatec represents an extension of the partnership that began with the company’s first project in SCZONE, which was inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of COP27 in November 2022, and recently succeeded in exporting the world’s first shipment of green ammonia,” SCZONE’s Gamal El-Dien stated.
“SCZONE’s regional pioneering in the green bunkering field came as a result of SCZONE’s ports’ readiness to provide this service, in addition to the prompt move towards green fuel production in cooperation with major international companies,” said Gamal El-Din.
“We emphasize that green bunkering is not a main target in itself, but an imperative global requirement, especially since shipping is responsible for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions, so the use of green fuels in maritime transport will significantly affect the reduction of carbon emissions,” the SCZONE chairman stressed.
Previous deals
In May, Egypt and Scatec finalized an agreement to launch the nation’s inaugural green methanol production project at the port of Damietta, representing a significant investment of $450 million. The project aims for an initial production of 40,000 tons of green methanol per year, with plans to scale up to 200,000 tons annually.
Aligned with Egypt’s Vision 2030, Egypt has been taking several actions aimed at expanding in production of green fuel, especially green hydrogen as a source of clean energy.
