Project Profile
Value: US$2 billion
Location: On the coast of the Gulf of Gabes near the town of Skhira, central-eastern Tunisia
Capacity: 7.5 million tons/annum & 250,000 bbl/day
Qatar Petroleum (QP) has decided to move on with the Skhira refinery project in Tunisia. The refinery will have a capacity of 7.5 million tons/annum & 250,000 bbl/day and will be located in central-eastern Tunisia, on the coast of the Gulf of Gabes near the town of Skhira. Qatar Petroleum initially won a bid in 2007 to develop Tunisia\'s first privately built, owned and run refinery as part of a joint venture with Petrofac, but the project never got off the ground. Qatar recently agreed to lend Tunisia US$500 million at favourable rates. The cost of the new refinery was put at US$2 billion, adding that it would have an initial capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, building eventually to 250,000 barrels a day. The Skhira refinery will be Tunisia\'s second after the state-owned facility at Bizerte, which has a much smaller capacity of about 34,000 barrels per day. The refinery will include processing units, storage, and offices. It will provide up to 1,200 jobs. The crude oil refinery can be expanded to produce lead-free benzene, LPG, diesel fuel, and kerosene for aircraft. It will export a portion of its production, but priority will go to meeting local demand for petroleum products.
Operators:
Qatar Petroleum: Operator with 100% interest