The Egyptian shareholding Middle East Oil Refinery Company (Midor) signed a $1.2 billion loan agreement with a coalition of three European banks: Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP SpA).

The deal is meant to support an expansion project by Midor, which is expected to cost $2.3 billion and aims to increase the company's refining capacity.

Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla attended the inking ceremony along with chairman of the board of the National Bank of Egypt Hisham Okasha, his deputy Dalia El-Baz and regional director of the Bank of Abu Dhabi in Egypt Ahmed Ismail.

The National Bank of Egypt and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi are the financial advisors of the project.