The wilayas of Adrar and Timimoun in the far south of the country constitute an important gas and oil pole in view of the promising existing and ongoing infrastructure likely to strengthen the energy security strategy in Algeria, local officials said Thursday. Energy sector.
The wilaya of Adrar has three energy structures guaranteeing the production of different hydrocarbon products, namely the oil refinery in the municipality of Sbaâ (50 km north of the capital), as well as the two gas complexes Reggane- North and Touat-Gaz, located respectively in the South and North of the wilaya, said the local director of energy, Tayeb Djabi,
The Sbaâ refinery, which was commissioned in 2007, has an annual production capacity of 600,000 tonnes of various energy products, while the Touat-Gaz gas complex produces 14 million cubic meters of gas daily and that of Reggane-Nord is 9 million tonnes per day, he explained. Regarding the potential for storage and distribution of different types of hydrocarbons, the wilaya of Adrar currently has a hydrocarbon warehouse, under the National Company for the marketing and distribution of petroleum products (Naftal), of 500 m3 of gasoline and 3,200 m3 of diesel, in addition to a shed for 15,000 butane and propane gas cylinders, with an estimated filling capacity of 1,200 cylinders/day, the same source added. Furthermore, the wilaya of Adrar”is experiencing a significant improvement in terms of coverage rate in electricity and natural gas ,” said Mr. Djabi.
This is 98.7% with 119,314 subscribers for electricity, at a time when 21,192 customers in the wilaya benefit from the natural gas supply. For its part, the new wilaya of Timimoun is home to the Hassi Barouda gas complex (126 km north of the town of Ougroute), the fruit of an Algerian-French-Spanish partnership between the national company Sonatrach, Total (France) and Cepsa ( Spain), whose processing capacity reaches 5 million cubic meters per day. The treated gas is transported from the Hassi Barouda complex to the Hassi R’mel complex (wilaya of Laghouat) via the gas pipeline from the Reggane-Nord and Touat-Gaz gas complexes to Adrar.
Other projects involving the construction of new gas complexes are under construction, such as those of Tinerkouk, Hassi Bahamou and Hassi Tidjerane totaling an overall production capacity of 11 million cubic meters of gas. The electricity production capacity in Timimoun is 39.1 megawatts, provided by four power stations, including a 9 megawatt photovoltaic power station. The electricity grid connection rate exceeded 92% with 57,690 customers, while natural gas coverage is 25%, or 14,250 connected households. The energy sector in Timimoun, said the same official, is committed to providing quality service to its subscribers by supplying them with electricity through the operation of the electricity transmission network between Timimoun and Tinerkouk, with a capacity of 60 kilovolts, as well as the increase in the number of processors. Among these commitments are also the connection of the wilaya to the national electricity grid and the increase in electricity supply capacities, in particular agricultural areas, it was indicated.
