DMEA: TotalEnergies says it will continue building Arzew petchem plant in Algeria

TotalEnergies (France) has said it will continue working to build a petrochemical plant in Algeria’s Arzew region, denying a report published earlier by African Intelligence. That source had claimed the French oil group had decided to withdraw from the project.

The African Intelligence report pointed to mounting concerns for the French group about the profitability of the complex, rising costs in the municipality of Arzew and the relatively greater attractiveness of Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) markets, as well as bureaucratic obstacles in Algeria. It also cited a letter from TotalEnergies to the Algerian national oil company (NOC) Sonatrach complaining that Algiers was not moving quickly enough to push the project forward.

The decision to move on with the project is likely to help maintain the strong ties between the two countries hours before a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the North African country that started on August 25.