Sidi Rezine has restarted its operations and increased its annual output to reach 3.645 million tons, up from 2.7 million tons, according to Reuters.

The Algerian oil refinery was shut down in 2018 for the modernization work executed by China Petroleum Engineering and Construction (CPECC). It was inaugurated by Algeria’s Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad.

According to Sidi Rezine Plant Manager, Hassen Boukhalfa, Algeria aims to start exporting gasoline by 2021, and diesel by 2024 after upgrading its other refineries to stop importing refined products.

It should be noted that Algeria produces approximately 30 million tons of refined products annually, and imports large quantities to meet growing domestic demand. In addition to that its gasoline production rates reached 2.7 million tons in 2019 against domestic consumption of 4 million tons, Boukhalfa said.