VOL. XLV

No 27

8-July-2002

 

OAPEC

 

Arab Refinery Capacity Projected At 6.57Mn B/D In 2005

 

Refinery capacity in the Arab states is projected to rise marginally by 1.07% by 2005, from 299.18mn tons/year (6,147,530 b/d) in 2000 to 319.89mn t/y (6,573,000 b/d), according to a paper entitled The Future of the Arab and International Refining Industry and the Role of Scientific Research In Its Development submitted by Mamun Absi Halabi, Mina Marafi and Hasan Qabazard of the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research and Saad Akasheh of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development at the 7th Arab Energy Conference in Cairo on 11-14 May (for details see MEES, 27 May). The authors point out that although the Arab countries’ refining sector has developed considerably during the last three decades and is currently meeting not only local product demand but exporting the remaining surplus, its rate of growth − especially during the last decade − has not been commensurate with that of crude oil production. According to the paper, at the end of 2000 there were 60 refineries in the Arab world with a total design capacity of 299.18mn t/y (6,147,530 b/d), with a planned expansion by 2005 of 20.71mn t/y (approximately 425,500 b/d) in four states, Saudi Arabia (6.85mn t/y), the UAE (5.86mn t/y), Egypt (4.78mn t/y) and Qatar (3.22mn t/y).  Table 1 gives a country-by-country breakdown of the design capacities of Arab refineries for the years 1990-2000, and the projected capacities in 2005:

 

Table 1

Arab Refinery Design Capacities 1990-2005

(Mn Tons/Year)

 

 

No of

   Design Capacity

Country

Refineries

1990

1995

2000

2005

UAE

5

8.47

8.90

20.71

26.57

Bahrain

1

12.60

12.60

12.60

12.60

Tunisia

1

1.50

1.50

1.50

1.50

Algeria

4

21.76

21.76

21.76

21.76

Saudi Arabia

8

86.11

78.05

80.93

87.78

Syria

2

11.70

11.70

11.70

11.70

Iraq

9

28.71

24.36

24.36

24.36

Qatar

1

2.75

2.75

2.75

5.97

Kuwait

3

37.90

37.90

40.89

40.89

Libya

5

16.53

16.53

16.53

16.53

Egypt

7

27.70

30.70

34.90

39.68

Jordan

1

3.30

3.30

4.62

4.62

Sudan

4

1.13

1.22

4.37

4.37

Somalia

1

045

0.45

0.45

0.45

Oman

1

3.60

3.60

3.60

3.60

Morocco

2

6.95

7.45

7.45

7.45

Lebanon

2

-

-

-

-

Mauritania

1

1.06

1.06

1.06

1.06

Yemen

2

9.00

9.00

9.00

9.00

Total

60

281.22

272.83

299.18

319.89

 

Conversion Capacity Remains Limited

Regarding Arab refineries’ conversion and treatment processes, the paper points out that the development and installation of such units for the purpose of increasing the output of transportation fuels and improving the quality of oil products in line with world-wide market requirements and environmental legislation has lagged behind other regions. In 1999-2000, the total conversion capacities of Arab refineries amounted to 45.7mn t/y, representing only 15.3% of total processing capacity (Table 2). However, these conversion capacities do not include the hydrodesulfurization units for heavy oil residues at Kuwaiti refineries, which in any case, have medium conversion capabilities. In addition, the capacities of the Arab refineries’ treatment units − hydrotreating, isomerization, alkylation and reforming − are relatively small, amounting to only 28.5% of total refining capacity. The following table, reproduced from the paper, gives a breakdown of catalytic conversion and product treatment capacities in Arab refineries in 1999-2000:

 

The paper concludes that the relatively small treatment capacities of Arab refineries not only reflect on their ability to meet both local and international quality requirements for oil products, especially concerning sulfur content, but also diminish their competitiveness in the world-wide oil products markets. However, some modest efforts are being made by Arab refineries to improve their treatment and conversion capacities through the installation of new processes. In this regard, the paper notes that the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has recently announced its intention of implementing a large-scale plan, estimated to cost around $3bn, for the improvement of the quality of oil products produced from its three refineries so as to meet international environmental regulations. The following table gives a list of Arab refinery projects that have been completed or are currently under construction:

Table 2

Arab Refineries Design Capacities of Catalytic Conversion and Treatment Units 1999-2000

(Thousand Tons/Year)

 

 

 

Hydro-

Catalytic

Vis-

 

Hydro-

Isomeri-

 

 

Country

Capacity

cracking

Cracking

Breaking

Coking

treating

zation

Alkylation

Reforming

UAE

20,710

1,300

   671

1,300

-

5,333

-

43

1,762

Bahrain

12,600

-

1,740

1,070

-

2,890

-

52

   690

Tunisia

  1,500

-

-

-

-

    220

-

-

   220

Algeria

21,760

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

3,308

Saudi Arabia

80,930

6,408

5,700

7,692

-

24,120

1,100

1,050

9,423

Syria

11,700

-

-

1,200

   907

  4,816

   392

-

1,333

Iraq

24,360

1,735

-

-

-

12,633

-

-

2,989

Qatar

  2,750

-

-

-

-

  1,724

   110

-

   466

Kuwait

40,890

8,535

1,957

-

3,000

22,177

-

175

2,013

Libya

16,529

-

-

-

-

1,494

-

-

691

Egypt

34,900

   800

-

-

   900

7,010

       935

50

2,720

Jordan

  4,620

   297

   211

-

-

   709

-

-

   462

Sudan

  4,367

-

-

-

-

   446

-

-

     97 

Oman

    3,600 

-

-

-

-

   795

-

-

   653

Morocco

 7,450

-

   280

-

-

   528

-

-

 1,050

Mauritania

 1,061

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

   233

Yemen

 9,000

-

-

-

-

   242

-

-

   677

Total

298,727

19,075

10,559

11,262

4,807

85,137

2,537

1,370

28,787

 

Table 3

Arab Refinery Projects (Completed or Under Construction)

 

 

 

 

Capacity

Completion

Country

Refinery

Project

(‘000 B/D)

Date

Algeria

 

New Refinery

na

2004