Info!
UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.

Total strengthens Algerian portfolio

Sonatrach and Total have signed two agreements as part of a comprehensive partnership announced in 2017:

The first is a new concession contract to jointly develop the Erg Issouane gas field located on the TFT Sud permit, signed by Sonatrach, Total and Alnaft (the National Agency for the Valorisation of Hydrocarbon Resources). The TFT Sud permit is located south of the Tin Fouyé Tabankort (TFT) field, of which Total is a long-standing partner. Sonatrach (51%) and Total (49%) will develop the reserves of Erg Issouane, which are estimated at more than 100mn boe. The development, which represents an investment of around $400mn, will be tied back to the existing TFT gas treatment unit by a 22-km long gas pipeline. First gas is expected late-2021. The partners have also signed a gas marketing agreement.

A shareholder agreement has also been signed to create a joint venture known as STEP (Sonatrach Total Entreprise Polymères). STEP will be responsible for carrying out a joint petrochemical project in Arzew, western Algeria. The project includes a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a polypropylene production unit with an output capacity of 550,000 t/y. Sonatrach (51%) and Total (49%) are planning to start the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the project in November 2018. This facility will allow the partners to valorise the propane, produced in large quantities locally, by transforming it into polypropylene, a plastic for which demand is growing strongly.

In other news, Total has also signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of a giant petrochemical complex in Jubail, on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast. Announced in April 2018, the world-class complex will be located next to the SATORP refinery, operated by Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and Total (37.5%), in order to fully exploit operational synergies. It will comprise a mixed-feed cracker (50% ethane and refinery off-gases) – the first in the Gulf region to be integrated with a refinery – with a capacity of 1.5mn t/y of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units. The project represents an investment of around $5bn and is scheduled to start-up in 2024.

News Item details


Journal title: Petroleum Review

Keywords: Energy

Countries: Algeria -

Subjects: Refining, Exploration and production, Gas, Petrochemicals

Please login to save this item