Dana Gas said its Egyptian affiliate had started commercial output at a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant in the North African country, with the first propane cargo loaded on October 1.

The Egyptian Bahrain Gas Derivatives Company is a joint venture between Dana's subsidiary Danagaz Bahrain, the government-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company and Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation.

The Ras Shukheir plant will have a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes a year of propane and butane using gas feedstock supplied by Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

Dana said the project cost Dh460 million ($125.24 million), funded through Dh318 million of project finance and Dh105 million equity, with the remaining to be funded through internal revenue. Dana Gas has contributed Dh28 million as its share of equity.

Rashid Al Jawan, the executive director and acting CEO of Dana Gas, said, "We are extremely pleased to complete this plant with our joint-venture partners. It is an important part of our long-term programme in Egypt, in terms of supporting their energy sector, and we are pleased that this has now been successfully completed."

"The Ras Shukheir plant is now our third gas processing plant to be commissioned in Egypt and we expect first revenue and cash flows in this quarter," he remarked.

Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, the GM of  Dana Gas Egypt said, "This project exemplifies the co-operation between Dana Gas and EGPC to deliver LPG to both the domestic and international market. Their involvement will ensure the success of this cornerstone project and will contribute significantly towards our group production figures in Egypt."

Dana Gas has 26.4 per cent interest in EBGDCo. The interest is held through Dana Gas’ 66 per cent ownership of Danagaz Bahrain.

The other shareholders include Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) with 40 per cent shareholding and Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a pan-Arab financial institution based in Saudi with 20 per cent stake.

Allman-Ward said the project had taken over two years for completion. The plant will market butane inside Egypt and export propane. Residual gas will be supplied to Egypt's national gas grid. – Reuters and TradeArabia News Service