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March 1, 2021 | 4 years ago

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176 million TOE of primary hydrocarbon production in 2020

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In an interview with the national daily "Liberté", published on Tuesday, Mr. Hakkar stressed that the decline in the primary production of the national hydrocarbon company contributed, within the framework of the OPEC + agreement, to the improving crude oil prices to their pre-crisis levels.

On the national market, the company delivered a volume of 60 million TOE, a level similar to that of 2019. Hydrocarbon exports reached, for their part, 81 million TOE, corresponding to a figure of business of 20.2 billion dollars, said the CEO of Sonatrach.

"It should be noted that despite the difficult market situation, the company was able, for the first time in the last decade, to place volumes of diesel and gasoline on the international market. The level of investment was established at 5 , $ 6 billion, 90% of which is in the exploration-production segment, ”he stressed.

In addition, the volume in place of the 18 new discoveries made in 2020 represents two and a half times that of 2019, with a level of investment halved.

Asked about the evolution of Sonatrach 50 years after the nationalization of hydrocarbons, Mr. Hakkar estimated that the company has built a "solid" industry covering upstream and downstream oil and gas activities with 177 deposits in particular. of hydrocarbons in operation and 77 fields in the development phase, a major pipeline transport network, six oil and condensate refineries and a maritime transport fleet.

During the past year marked by the health crisis, Sonatrach continued to operate at its various sites in the South and North of the country, using its internal resources and those of local businesses, "which has made it possible to achieve facing the demobilization of foreign contractors operating on its projects and facilities, "according to the CEO.

Following the Covid-19 crisis, Sonatrach was able to reduce its investment and operating expenses in 2020 by more than 6 billion dollars compared to the year 2019, mainly foreign exchange expenses which were reduced by 9 billion dollars in 2019 to less than 5 billion dollars in 2020.

Regarding the partnership, the national hydrocarbons company has joined forces with the French group "Total" to build a unit for the dehydrogenation of propane and the production of 550,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene (PDH-PP) in Arzew . A similar project in partnership with the Turkish company "Ronesans", with a production capacity of 450,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene, will also be carried out in Turkey.

"Also, we are discussing and studying with our partners other petrochemical projects related to the production of plastic, methanol and phosphate. These projects will have a considerable impact on the national economy," said Mr. Hakkar.

Regarding competition on the European energy market, the CEO of Sonatrach indicated that the public company, a traditional supplier to the European market, was part of a long-term strategy, aiming "on the one hand, to consolidate its shares in its traditional markets and, on the other hand, to maximize its income while meeting a constantly growing national demand ".

February 16, 2021 | algeria-logo

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