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Sonatrach signs contract with two Sinopec

subsidiaries for Skikda LNG storage tank

ALGERIA ALGERIA’S national oil company (NOC) plant – Arzew LNG, which has 13 production
Sonatrach has signed a contract for the con- trains capable of turning out around 20.8mn tpy
struction of a new storage tank at the Skikda of LNG.
LNG plant with two subsidiaries of China’s Despite Skikda LNG’s relatively small size,
Sinopec. Sonatrach’s decision to keep the plant off line for
In a statement dated February 17, Sonatrach more than half of 2020 had a significant impact
revealed that it had awarded the contract for the on Algeria’s LNG sector. The NOC powered the
project to Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Co. Ltd facility down in January 2020 for a scheduled
and Sinopec International Petroleum Services two-month maintenance programme and then
Corp., both owned by the state-controlled Chi- extended the closure until July of the same year,
nese company. The value of the deal, which will following the discovery of damage to one of the
be executed over a period of 40 months, comes plant’s 14 turbines in February. It opted to repair
to nearly DZD25bn ($178.31mn), it said. the turbine rather than replace it, as the replace-
Under the contract, the Sinopec subsidiaries ment process would have kept the Skikda facility
are slated to demolish two existing storage tanks out of production for 18 months.
at Skikda LNG’s GL1K liquefaction complex and It also sought to compensate for the loss of
replace them with a new tank with a nominal the plant’s capacity by increasing the volume of
storage capacity of 150,000 cubic metres. Addi- LNG exported from the Arzew plant. Even so,
tionally, they will supply and install equipment the extension of the maintenance programme
connecting the new storage tank to the loading caused Algeria’s LNG exports to drop to 10.9mn
system of Skikda LNG’s new jetty. tonnes in 2020, equivalent to just 43% of the
The new jetty is being built to optimise combined 25.3 tpy export capacity of the Skikda
the LNG plant’s export capacity, Sonatrach and Arzew plants. ™
explained. Once the new facility is completed,
it said, Skikda LNG will be in a position to finish
loading and dispatch tankers more quickly.
The contract appears to have been drawn up
within the context of a document that Sonatrach
and Sinopec signed last year on expanding
co-operation in a number of areas, including
LNG, according to LNG Prime. That document,
a memorandum of understanding (MoU), was
inked in May 2021.
The Skikda LNG plant, located on Algeria’s
northern coast, processes gas from the Hassi
R’Mel fields and is capable of turning out 4mn
tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG. It is significantly
smaller than Algeria’s other gas liquefaction The Skikda LNG plant can turn out 4mn tpy of LNG (Photo: Altrad)

“Declaration of Niamey” revives

Trans-Saharan gas line project

REGIONAL A deal between the governments of Algeria, during a forum held by the Economic Commu-
Niger and Nigeria may breathe new life into nities of West African States (ECOWAS) dedi-
ambitious plans for a pipeline linking sub-Sa- cated to the mining and petroleum industries.
haran Africa with European consumer markets. The deal, signed by the energy ministers of
The so-called “Declaration of Niamey” was the three countries, outlines plans for the 4,128-
signed in the Nigerien capital on February 16 km Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline (TSGP).

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