> Offered advantages
> Investment niches in the marketing of petroleum products
> Interchangeability of the gas LPG bottles
> Undeveloped infrastructures
> The required conditions
> Administrative procedures

> Circular, domestic filling and distribution of LPG bottles
> allotted colors

The opening to competition of petroleum products distribution activities is not only meant to make up for lack of infrastructure, but also and chiefly to make consumers profit from competitiveness.

  1. Offered advantages

• Existence of a market of 8.5 million tons/year of petroleum products.
• The distributor may import his products, get his supplies from local sources or produce his own needs from high grade oil and LPG available in large quantities.
• Foreign investments are given a guarantee of transfer of invested capital and derived income (contact the ANDI Agency for more details).
• Tax aids are allowed by the State to local and foreign investors (see ANDI).
• Cheap managerial staff and labour.
• Public companies transportation and storage capacities may be used by the distributors.

  2. Investment niches market in the marketing of petroleum products

The opening to competition of the national market offers large parts to the local and foreign investment in the field of marketing of petroleum products.

These investments concern the following activities :

1. distribution of fuels including the LPG fuel,
2. distribution of LPG for domestic use,
3. distribution of lubricants,
4. distribution of bitumen,
5. pipe transportation of LPG and fuels,
6. storage of LPG and fuels,
7. LPG bottling,
8. Bitumen formulation,
9. CNG distribution.

  3. Undeveloped infrastructures

a) Deficiencies in the field of fuel distribution

• massive pipe transportation connecting the big consuming centres to the production sources.
• The fuel storage to increase autonomy and supply the wilayates (regions) in need.
• Development of rail transportation,
• Increase in the transportation rolling stack for the delivery of fuels.
• Densification of the distribution network.

b) Distribution deficiencies of LPG as a fuel

• shortage of storage capacities in consuming areas to secure demand.
• reinforcement of the transportation network to satisfy the growing demand.
• further upgrading of the distribution network.

c) Distribution deficiencies of LPG as a domestic fuel

-  butane

• development of massive pipe transportation linking the production sources to the regional distribution areas.
• increase in storage capacities mainly in the regional station of the Centre and the filler centres.
• conditioning : butane gas filling capacities to be achieved in deficient or deprived Wilayates (regions). The setting up of mobile monopost fillers with one post is to be developed in Algeria.
• bulk transportation of butane : the supply of the barreling stations with bulk butane requires the use of additional tankers and in the future of railways.
• transportation development of conditioned butane deliveries involving increasingly private carriers.

-  propane

• development of small zones endowed with propane to supply towns and urban areas deprived of natural gas.
• the minor bulk business is not very developed in Algeria.

4. Interchangeability of the gas LPG bottles

The investors in LPGs filling activity may use LPG bottles available on the market of a third promoter and in particular the ones from the public enterprise Naftal, against the conclusion of a convention between the concerned operators initialed by the Ministry in charge of hydrocarbons, according to the Decree fixing the terms and conditions for interchangeability of butane bottles between operators carrying on the activity of filling liquefied petroleum gases.

  5. The required conditions

The exercise of one or more activities, regulated hereabove, is subject to the authorisation of the Minister in charge of Hydrocarbons in accordance with the provisions of the decree 97-435.

This authorisation is issued to any operator having the necessary funds to achieve the infrastructures, facilities and other means required to carry out his activity.

  6. Administrative procedures

The application for an authorisation to exercise one or more activities is addressed by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the Minister in charge of Hydrocarbons who deals with it within a maximum of three months from the date of reception of the application (decree 97-435).

This application should be accompanied by the following documents:

• the agreements and permits granted by the local authorities for the achievement of the infrastructures required for the operations,
• an outline map to scale 1/1000 of infrastructures to be achieved, representing on a minimal ray of 100 m, neighboring infrastructures, works and dwellings,
• of a plan of mass of the project with 1/250th representing the various equipment and facilities, particularly the refilling and storage surfaces, traffic areas, access roads and safety systems,
• the total amount of investment and its destination according to each item,
• estimated lead time,
• a statement of estimated achievements for the first five years (optional).
• Chart of the principal equipment by specifying their storage and outputs per product,
• Description of the safety device of the project (preventive, average means of fight against the fire, lighting, lightning protector, put at the ground of equipment etc).