Page 9 - DMEA Week 17 2022
P. 9

DMEA                                           REFINING                                               DMEA


       Algeria completes Hassi




       Messaoud refinery




        AFRICA           SONATRACH, Algeria’s national oil company   The nearby Hassi Messaoud oilfield is Alge-
                         (NOC), has announced the launch of a 60,000  ria’s largest. It was discovered in 1956 by the
                         barrel per day (bpd) greenfield refinery in the  French colonial National Society for Petroleum
                         eastern town of Hassi Messaoud.      Research and Exploitation in Algeria (SN Repal)
                           Company CEO Toufik Hakkar, who attended  before being nationalised in 1971. Production
                         the unveiling ceremony for the plant, was quoted  peaked at 720,000 bpd in 1977 and the field cur-
                         in a statement as saying that the facility was 99%  rently produces around 450,000 bpd.
                         complete. The refinery was one of a raft of pro-  Algeria’s total crude output is just over 1mn
                         jects mentioned by Sonatrach in January when  bpd. The country’s oil exports have increased
                         Hakkar said the company had budgeted $40bn  with the easing of OPEC+ quotas, growing from
                         for its 2022-2026 capital programme, with $8bn  an average of 375,000 bpd in 2021 to around
                         allocated for this year alone.       390,000 bpd over the past two months.
                           The plant was first proposed in 2012 as one of   Also included in Sonatrach’s four-year plan is
                         five planned 110,000 bpd refineries; it is unclear  the expansion of the Skikda refinery, the coun-
                         whether the newly completed unit is yet to be  try’s largest oil-processing plant, to allow for the
                         expanded further.                    conversion of by-products into fuels.
                           Amec Foster Wheeler, now part of the UK’s   The facility, which is located in the north-
                         Wood Group, won a front-end engineering and  east of the country, has a current throughput
                         design (FEED) contract covering the Hassi Mes-  capacity of 356,500 bpd. In November, a fire
                         saoud facility, as well as two others at Tiaret in the  broke out during maintenance at the refinery,
                         northwest and Biskra in the northeast. A $3.7bn  injuring eight workers, one of which later died
                         engineering, procurement and construction  from his injuries. The fire, which started at an
                         (EPC) contract was awarded to a consortium  idled reforming unit which had already been
                         comprised of Spanish company Tecnicas Reu-  shut down for repairs, was quickly extinguished,
                         nidas (55%) and South Korea’s Samsung Engi-  according to a statement from the Ministry of
                         neering (45%).                       Energy and Mines.™


                                                         FUELS


       Uganda to produce LPG from Hoima refinery




        AFRICA           UGANDA plans to produce 220,000 tonnes per  BakerHughes GE, Italy’s Saipem, and Mauri-
                         year (tpy) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from  tian-registered Yaatra Africa and Lionworks
                         the planned oil refinery as the country targets  Group.
                         phasing out LPG imports. Once the country’s oil   In February, Uganda’s energy minister held
                         refinery is in place, LPG capacity will be about  talks this week with the consortium developing
                         24 times the current estimated demand of 9,000  the country’s first oil refinery, days after a final
                         tonnes of LPG in the country, said the Ugandan  investment decision (FID) was taken on the pro-
                         oil refinery holding company’s general manager,  ject to develop the larger of the oilfields that will
                         Michael Nkambo Mugerwa.              provide its feedstock.
                           The East Africa country, which discovered   During a visit to Italy, Uganda’s Minister of
                         oil reserves a decade ago, has seen its produc-  Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nanka-
                         tion timeline changed many times due to gov-  birwa discuss discussed the status of the facility
                         ernment disagreements with field investors over  at Kabale in Hoima district with the AGRC. The
                         taxes and development policies.      group holds a 60% share in the refinery project
                           Uganda now says it expects commercial oil  with the remainder held by the Uganda National
                         production by 2023, many years later than ini-  Oil Co. (UNOC) through its Uganda Refinery
                         tially planned, and will construct its own oil  Holding Co. (URHC) subsidiary.
                         refinery that should be operational by 2027.  In August, the Africa Finance Corp. (AFC)
                           In April 2021 Uganda signed a deal with  advanced $20mn for the facility’s construction
                         the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium  with the African Development Bank (AfDB),
                         (AGRC) to build and operate a 60,000 barrel per  Prosper Africa and Trace and Development
                         day (bpd) refinery that is estimated to cost $4bn.  Agency also seen providing finance for the
                           AGRC is comprised of US-based  refinery.™



       Week 17   28•April•2022                  www. NEWSBASE .com                                              P9
   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14