Arabian Cement Company (ACC) has signed an agreement with the Egyptian Refining Company to supply local petroleum coke, also known as pet coke, with an annual volume of 300,000 tonnes as of July 2019, according to a press statement on Wednesday.

Sergio Alcantarilla, CEO of ACC said that this agreement is in line with the company’s efforts to reduce production costs, and improve the operational performance of the company by diversifying its energy sources.

Pet coke is a solid non-volatile residue which is obtained as the final still product in the distillation of crude petroleum and whose purity makes it desirable for metallurgical processes, for carbon electrodes, and as a fuel.

The statement noted, “Arabian Cement Company is pioneering the use of alternative energy in the Egyptian cement industry as the first cement company in Egypt to establish a coal mill and the first to establish a solar power station inside its plant.”

ACC’s cement factory is located in the Suez governorate, and produces up to five million tonnes of first quality cement annually–approximately 8% of Egypt’s production.