For twenty-five years we have been the only company producing any substantial quantity of oil in Egypt, and for a like period we have been the only commercial concern which has spent appreciable sum of money upon petroleum geology in Egypt. Under the new standard regulations, however, two other important oil companies have entered the feld and have applied to the Government for exploration permits, In the future, therefore, there will be others besides ourselves seeking for oil production in Egypt I mentioned last year that we had accepted an offer to participate in a proposed search for oil in another area outside of Egypt. No expenditure has so far been incurred on this project, but we are hoping in due course to have the arrangements completed so that exploration work may be commenced.
The refinery throughout of our own crude oil was practically the same as for the preceding year, and we treated slightly more imported crude and fuel oil, The demand for asphalt was well maintained, though it was not quite up to the record level of the previous year. The new high vacuum asphalt plant was completed early in the present year and is giving excellent results, Yc** board have been giving careful consideration to the future of cur refinery, quite apart from, when ther we are successful in finding a new source of indigenous oil or not They have come to the conclusion that further extensions are fully justified, and it has been decided to erect a new Dubbs cracking plant of the latest type which will enable the existing cracking plant, which i now eight years old, to be used a a standby and for special work. This extension will entail the provision of additional boiler plant, salt water cooling plant and main tankage, The total cost will be in the neighbourhood of £250,000, spread over the next twelve months. This is a large sum, but one well within the financial resources of the compan; the expenditure of which will mak our refinery still more efficient, up-to-date and economical in working.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.