Oil Refining Plants Struggle Amid Currency Fluctuations

About 95% of the country’s crude oil needs are met through imports, and the failure to allocate foreign exchange on time for crude oil imports is one of the serious and recurring challenges facing the industry.

The nominal capacity of oil refineries in the country is about 6 million tons per year, while domestic demand is estimated at only about 2 million tons. This means that many factories operate at less than 30 percent of capacity.

Also, the lack of export capacity due to the currency structure and the focus of policies on subsidized imports has hindered the development of foreign markets and caused domestic production to stagnate.