Oilfield & Energies

Total and Sonatrach to start $1.4bn petrochemicals project

Total and Algeria’s Sonatrach are reported to be planning to launch the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for their $1.4 billion petrochemical project within months. The project, which was first announced in 2016, aims to tap into Algeria’s rich natural gas reserves.

The complex, located in Algeria, will include a propane dehydrogenation facility, feeding a 550,000 tpa polypropylene plant. The facility will valorize propane, which is produced in large quantities locally, by transforming it into polypropylene, a plastic for which demand is growing strongly. It will primarily supply local North African and Mediterranean demand, although Total also plans to commerialize production across Europe.

Total’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, added that the project would complement its other natural gas-based project, recently launched on the US Gulf Coast, to tap into that country’s rich shale gas reserves.