Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune issued instructions to the government to increase the pace of implementation in the new refinery project in the Hassi Messaoud region, which will become the second largest oil refinery in the country, in order to start production to contribute to securing the growing local needs for fuel and exporting the surplus abroad.
The new Hassi Messaoud refinery is one of the strategic projects for the refining sector in Algeria. The refining capacity increased to 775 thousand b/d and is expected to be able to process 100,000 barrels per day, and that places it second after the Skikda refinery of 355,000 b/d.
According to the agreement signed in January 2020 between Sonatrach and its partners (Spanish Tecnicas Runidas and Korean Samsung Engineering), the refinery produces many petroleum derivatives that comply with European standards (Euro 5).
Hassi Messaoud refinery project is estimated to cost $3.7 billion. The refinery includes units for producing propane, butane, and gasoline types 95 and 91, in addition to aircraft kerosene and diesel, and quantities of bitumen. .
It is worth noting that Algeria has six crude oil refineries with a total capacity of 677 thousand barrels per day, the largest of which is the Skikda refinery with a refining capacity of 355 thousand barrels per day and a condensate refinery with a capacity of up to 122 thousand barrels per day. Other refineries in Algeria include the Arzew refinery with a capacity of 87 thousand barrels per day, the Algiers refinery with a capacity of 78 thousand barrels per day, the Hassi Messaoud refinery with a capacity of 22 thousand barrels per day, and the Adrar refinery with a capacity of 13 thousand barrels per day.
Oil refineries in Algeria meet the needs of the local market for petroleum derivatives. Which contributed to the government company Sonatrach stopping importing it.
According to a five-year plan, Algeria aims to invest $30 billion in hydrocarbon exploration and production between 2023 and 2027, to achieve energy security for the country and export abroad.
The volume of domestic consumption of petroleum products in Algeria in 2023 is estimated at about 352 thousand barrels per day. Diesel is the dominant product in consumption, followed by gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene and the rest of the products.