UAE-based Dana Gas has started production at its joint-venture natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction plant at Ras Shukheir, Egypt, having loaded its first propane shipment on 1 October.

The joint venture Egyptian Bahrain Gas Derivatives Company’s (EBGDCO) AED460m ($125m) project is now receiving gas from the nearby gas plant operated by Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) at a rate of 55-80 million cubic feet a day (cf/d). The plant is the first of its type in the Suez region.

At full capacity, it will have an intake of 150 million cf/day and be able to extract 120,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of butane and propane, Dana Gas said. The butane will be sold in the domestic Egyptian market, while the propane will be exported internationally.

The main construction contract on the project was carried out by Egyptian companies Petrojet and Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI).

Dana Gas subsidiary Danagaz Bahrain holds a 40 per cent stake in EBGDCO, with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding also holding 40 per cent and Saudi Arabia-based Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) with the remaining 20 per cent.