AUC Graduates 32 Specialists From First-of-its-kind Diploma for Egypt’s Oil and Gas Industry

The American University in Cairo (AUC) celebrated the graduation of 32 professionals constituting the first cohort of the Professional Diploma in Process Safety Management (PSM). The diploma is the result of a tripartite collaboration among the University, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Methanex Egypt. The graduation ceremony, which took place at the AUC New Cairo campus, was attended by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi; AUC President Ahmad Dallal; Methanex Global CEO Rich Sumner; Methanex Egypt Managing Director Mohamed Shindy; Dean of the School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE) Lotfi Gaafar; First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Yassin Mohamed, Chairman of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) Alaa El-Din Abdel Fattah and several senior leaders of the oil and gas sector and the University.

Building on a foundational agreement signed in 2020 to develop a national Process Safety Management (PSM) roadmap, this partnership has led to the successful implementation of 24 sector-adopted PSM standards and guidelines, which form the backbone of the diploma’s curriculum. Launched in May 2025, the first-of-its-kind program in Egypt was designed by AUC’s Engineering and Science Services (ESS) and the Department of Petroleum and Energy Engineering in partnership with Methanex Egypt to equip technical professionals with the skills needed to manage operational risks and prevent major incidents in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. 

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, AUC President Ahmad Dallal noted that the graduation of this first cohort of professionals marks an important milestone in the partnership between the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Methanex Egypt and AUC. “We collaborated with the Ministry and Methanex to design a program that is rigorous, relevant, and grounded in real operational needs. This is the kind of partnership that creates value—where government, industry and academia work together to address real priorities and to build lasting institutional capacity,” Dallal said.

Dallal also noted that strong process safety systems protect lives, assets and the environment, while supporting reliability, efficiency and long-term competitiveness. He added that by preparing professionals who can apply standards with confidence and consistency, the program helps strengthen the foundations of Egypt’s energy sector and reinforces its long-term resilience.

In his remarks, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi emphasized that investing in human capital and implementing process safety standards are fundamental pillars of the Ministry’s strategy to advance the petroleum sector.

He noted that this program represents a successful model of collaboration between global companies and leading academic institutions to strengthen a culture of occupational safety, ensuring the protection of lives and the sustainability of production processes. He affirmed that the diploma embodies the longstanding and fruitful partnership among the sector, AUC and Methanex Corporation.

Mohamed Shindy, managing director of Methanex Egypt, commented: “The completion of the first cohort of the PSM Professional Diploma is an important milestone in our long-standing partnership with the Ministry and AUC. We are proud to see these professionals equipped to embed process safety into every facet of operations across the Egyptian energy sector and we remain committed to continuing our sponsorship of future cohorts as part of our investment in sector-wide capability building.”

“I am pleased to celebrate the graduation of the first cohort of the AUC–Methanex PSM Diploma. This milestone reflects the strong partnership between AUC, Methanex Egypt, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to advance process safety management capabilities in Egypt,” said Lotfi Gaafar, dean of AUC’s SSE. 

Gaafar added that graduates of this inaugural cohort are now well prepared to enhance safety and reliability across industrial operations, and that AUC looks forward to building on this collaboration with future cohorts.

With more than 40 years of experience, ESS has earned a reputation as one of the biggest and leading providers of training and consultation services for practitioners in the Engineering and scientific fields across Egypt and the Middle East. Capitalizing on its diverse programs and services, thousands of public and private sector organizations have become regular recipients, including the banking sector, real estate developers, petroleum, construction, and steel industries.