Energy
From The Report: Tunisia 2018
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Despite its comparably lower volume of hydrocarbons reserves, Tunisia has largely been able to effectively allocate them to meet its development needs. However, as its oil and gas reserves diminish, the long-term energy strategy will increasingly rely on diversified sources. Although an uptake in exploration efforts may yield new exploitable reserves, an acceleration of renewable energy generation will be required to reduce the country’s vulnerability to energy shocks. Equally challenging and necessary will be to continue reducing subsidies and eliminating market distortions. Increasing energy security will likely remain the sector’s primary priority, and drive public and private investment over the medium term. This chapter contains interviews with Nabil Smida, Chairman and CEO, Société Nationale de Distribution des Pétroles AGIL; and Moncef Harrabi, Chairman, Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Fuelling the future: Hydrocarbons exploration and renewable energy projects aim to address domestic needs
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Situated between two energy-producing giants, Tunisia has not been as fortunate as some of its regional neighbours in terms of hydrocarbons resources. While comparably modest, the country’s oil and gas reserves have nonetheless provided an important contribution to economic growth and development. However, a lack of promising new discoveries has compounded concerns regarding the rapid depletion of proven oil and gas reserves in recent decades. Witnessing an increase in domestic energy consumption…

Interview

Moving downstream: Nabil Smida, Chairman and CEO, Société Nationale de Distribution des Pétroles AGIL, on commercialising oil products and combatting the flow of illegal fuel
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Interview: Nabil Smida, Chairman and CEO, Société Nationale de Distribution des Pétroles AGIL What investments are necessary to further develop Tunisia’s local storage capacity? NABIL SMIDA: In 2017 we completed our liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage centre in the governorate of Gabès, in the south of Tunisia. With six spheres and a 12, 000-tonne total capacity, the centre doubled its storage capacity from 10 to 20 days, and will ensure Tunisia’s autonomy. Before the completion of the…

Interview

Power up: Moncef Harrabi, Chairman, Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG), on increasing energy supply and efficiency
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Interview:Moncef Harrabi, Chairman, Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG) What strategies are in place to meet the increasing demand for energy in Tunisia? MONCEF HARRABI: During the summer of 2017 energy consumption in Tunisia reached an all-time high of 4025 MW. This was a result of the heatwave that hit the country in July, with temperatures reaching as high as 47°C. We therefore had to use all the electricity centres at maximum capacity to accommodate the surge in…

Analysis

Soaking up the sun: A large-scale solar power plant will export electricity to European neighbours
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In an effort to address high energy production costs and increase the use of renewable sources, a delayed project to build Tunisia’s first large-scale solar energy farm is now under way. The farm, set to be developed by UK firm TuNur, was approved in 2012, not long after the country’s revolution. Ongoing political and economic instability led to interruptions in the project’s development, but with an improvement in the security environment, the government and private developer have been taking…

Analysis

Digging deeper: Stability is required to rejuvenate the phosphate industry
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A historically important contributor to the economy, phosphate mining continues to show mixed signs following years of underperformance. Seven years after Tunisia’s revolution, phosphate mining and the operations of state-owned Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa (CPG) remain marred by the loss of the country’s position in international markets. Instability during that time led to a sharp reduction in production and export volumes, denting the industry’s economic contribution in terms of foreign…