The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla, affirmed that developing petroleum ports is an integral part of the ministry's strategy to turn Egypt into a regional hub for oil and gas trading. 

El-Hamra Petroleum Port on the Mediterranean Sea is one of the key ports witnessing unprecedented expansions which are currently underway, El-Molla added in a statement on Monday. 

This came during the general assembly of Western Desert Operating Petroleum Co. (WEPCO), which is responsible for managing El-Hamra Port, and Badr Petroleum Company (BAPETCO). 

The expansion works of El-Hamra Port, which will contribute to the country's ongoing development plans at El-Alamein, spans over 120 feddans. They will include the establishment of two new warehouses (no.9 and no. 10) and the addition of new facilities. 

Over the course of the year, the port received and handled 82 million barrels of crude oil, averaging about 225,000 per day. 

A new warehouse (no. 7) has been operated in March, raising the storage capacity at the port by 40% to 2.13 million barrels and another warehouse (no. 8) is currently under construction. These two warehouses have a total investment cost of $64 million. 

On a side note, BAPETCO said that the output at Badr-1 field, operated under the supervision of WEPCO, reached 1.5 million barrels in fiscal year (FY) 2020/2021. SIx new wells have been drilled, raising the reserves at the field at about 17.25 million barrels.