Continental Focus, International Reach

Sonatrach and Vitol Sign Refine Abroad Deal

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Sonatrach, the state-run oil and gas firm of Algeria, entered into an agreement with Vitol to ship crude to Italy to be processed and sent back to Algeria as refined products. The agreement is aimed at aiding Algeria reduce its fuel import bill.
Under the agreement with Vitol the country will be able to stop buying refined fuel in three years, when Algeria’s new refinery at Hassi Messaoud is expected to be completed. The planned Hassi Messaoud refinery will have an annual processing capacity of about 100,000 bpd.
Speaking to reporters, Sonatrach CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour said that Vitol was selected from five companies that participated in a tender to ship its crude outside the country and have it sent back as refined fuel. “We don’t want to continue to import $2 billion of fuel per year,” Ould Kaddour told reporters.


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