The Egyptian Refining Company is to hold meetings in mid-January with several export credit agencies for loans to develop its $3bn Mostorod refinery.

The refining company and its adviser, France’s Societe Generale, plan to complete the agreements with Japan Bank for International Co-operation, the Export Import Bank of Korea and Japan’s Nippon Export & Investment Insurance by the end of the first quarter.

It is also working with four commercial banks, the UK’s HSBC, France’s Calyon, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and Egypt’s CIB Bank, to help finance the project. Agreements with the four institutions are also expected to be completed by the end of March.

The export credit agencies are expected to provide the full $2.25bn debt required by the project, either through direct loans or loan guarantees. These will then be funded by the banks.

Egyptian Refining Company is a consortium of local investment house Citadel Capital, which holds 85 per cent, and state oil company Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, which holds the remaining 15 per cent (MEED 24:11:09).