Egypt is going to invest $14bn in refining and petrochemicals over the next five years, according to oil minister Sherif Ismail.

It is also considering floating stakes in some state-owned oil companies on the Egyptian stock exchange, Ismail told the news agency Reuters.

Egypt is currently battling to exit its worst energy crisis in decades after years of underinvestment in oil and gas production and refineries.

Ismail said $1.9bn will be invested in the Ethylene Derivatives Complex (ETHYDCO), a petrochemicals megaproject that is set to be completed in December 2015.

The facility in Alexandria will be the largest producer of ethylene and polyethylene in Egypt as well as producing butadiene and poly butadiene.

ETHYDCO has a budget of $2.5bn according to project tracking service MEED Projects.