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Algiers - Algeria plans to double its petrol and diesel output when three new oil refineries start production in 2018, the head of refining department at state energy firm Sonatrach said on Monday.
"We are currently producing 9 million tonnes of diesel and 4 million tonnes of petrol per year," the Sonatrach official, Zoubida Benmoufouk, said on state radio. "The three refineries will produce 9 million tonnes of diesel and 4 million tonnes of petrol."
The new refineries are under construction in Tiaret, west of Algiers, and in the southern provinces of Hassi Messaoud and Biskra, she said.
Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member Algeria exports several oil-refined products but also imports petrol and diesel due to growing domestic demand.
Diesel purchases from abroad dropped to one million tonnes in 2014 from 2.8 million tonnes in the two previous years, she said, without giving figures for petrol imports.
Imports had increased before last year due to improvement work at the country's main refineries, she added.
Algeria's largest refinery, Skikda, has produced 18 million tonnes of various refined products after resuming full operations that followed improvement work, exceeding its target of 16.5 million tonnes, Benmoufouk said.
Refined products output has not declined at the country's five refineries and recent disruptions at domestic petrol stations were due to loading and transport problems caused by bad weather.
