Algeria has announced plans to double its petrol and diesel output when three new oil refineries start production in 2018, according to state energy firm Sonatrach
Sonatrach head of refining department Zoubida Benmoufouk said, “We are currently producing nine million tonnes of diesel and four million tonnes of petrol per year.
“The new refineries are under construction in Tiaret, west of Algiers, and in the southern provinces of Hassi Messaoud and Biskra.”
OPEC member Algeria exports several oil refined products but also imports petrol and diesel due to growing domestic demand, Reuters reported.
Diesel purchases from abroad dropped to one million tonnes in 2014 from 2.8mn tonnes in the two previous years, the Sonatrach official said without giving figures for petrol imports.
Algeria’s largest refinery — Skikda — has been producing 18mn tonnes of various refined products after resuming full operations that followed improvement work, exceeding its target of 16.5mn tonnes, Benmoufouk said.
