a day ago
Algeria launches $7bln petrochemical, refining projects
Algeria has launched several petrochemical and refining projects worth nearly $7 billion to tap its oil and gas resources and maximise income, its oil minister has said.
The projects in various parts of the North African Arab country will be carried out during 2025-2029, Mohammed Arkab told parliament on Thursday.
'An investment portfolio estimated at $7 billion has been allocated for the completion of several major industrial projects, as part of the implementation of the strategy aimed at increasing the conversion rate of hydrocarbons into value-added products from the current 32 percent to 50 percent by the end of the current five-year development plan,' he said, quoted by Elkhabar and other Algerian newspapers on Friday.
The projects comprises the new Hassi Messaoud refinery, with a capacity of 5 million tonnes per year, which is scheduled to come online in late 2027.
Another project is the Arzew naphtha cracker which will produce an additional 1.2 million tonnes of gasoline starting in March 2027.
Arkab said the projects also include the Skikda fuel cracker project, which will be commissioned in January 2029 and produce 1.75 million tonnes of diesel and 250,000 tonnes of asphalt.
In its Global Global Chemicals Outlook 2025 issued in December last year, Fitch Ratings said chemical margins will remain under pressure due to overcapacity and mounting geopolitical risks, despite modest volume improvements and lower energy and feedstock cost.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
