Algeria’s Sonatrach mulls investment of US$80 bln in refining and petrochemicals over 5 years

07-Jun-12

Algerian state energy company Sonatrach plans to increase its investment to US$80 bln over the next five years in a bid to expand its gas resource base and boost its refining and petrochemical capacity. This pegs the investment amount to US$12 bln more than previously announced and is mainly focused on the upstream (sector) to increase its refinery capacity and petrochemical base. Algeria needs to import large quantities of refined fuel products such as gasoline and gasoil due to insufficient refining capacity, while domestic demand is growing. Also, a preliminary study shows that Algeria has an estimated 600 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas reserves.