The Tunisian campaign ‘#Winou El Petrol’ (‘Where’s the oil’) was very successful around 2015. People wore yellow T-shirts with the slogan in bold Arabic letters. Photoshopped images of world leaders wondering where the oil is in speech bubbles appeared on the internet. And a rap song: “They silenced us when we started talking about oil. They said Tunisia is empty: ‘Just go and have fun’.”
Many Tunisians could not believe that neighboring countries Algeria and Libya were full of oil while Tunisia only had a few negligible oil fields. According to sociologists, the anger among the population was mainly caused by the feeling that the proceeds of the scarce Tunisian raw materials were unfairly distributed while the profits mainly went to large multinationals.
Suddenly popular with oil companies
Almost ten years later, Tunisia is still popular with major oil companies, albeit to build refineries, notes a Tunisian energy expert with good contacts at the Energy Directorate of the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. “Foreign oil refineries are queuing up for a business permit. In a few months, about fifteen applications were received,” says the expert, who does not want his name in the newspaper because the information is confidential.
The reason is that the demand for oil is declining worldwide and American and European oil refineries are finding it difficult to keep their heads above water. They have to contend with all kinds of environmental regulations and high CO2-taxes. “Asia and Africa have become popular,” says the energy expert. Tunisia is not difficult about the environment, has several ports and is close to Europe. Refineries can import oil from neighboring countries Libya and Algeria, process it in Tunisia and then export it. “Algeria is very closed and Libya is too politically unstable to settle there.”
A committee has now been appointed to assess the applications, the expert said, while the refineries are doing their best to outdo competitors. What did Tunisia think of a new port gate? Or a water desalination plant? Others put pressure on the government in a less subtle way. “They say things like: keep in mind that our file is on President Kais Saied’s desk,” responding to officials’ fear of incurring his wrath. Saied, who took all power in 2021, is known as a popularity-sensitive autocrat who, when it is in his interest, calmly portrays officials as “traitors” or “agents of foreign countries”.
Tunisia now has only one oil refinery, the STIR, near the northern port city of Bizerte. This state-owned company produces less than a third of the fuels the country needs. The rest is imported from Libya and Algeria. With one or two more refineries, the country can move forward quickly and efficiently, the energy expert believes. “If we play it smart, our country will soon be able to obtain oil products at bargain prices. Handy for a country that generously subsidizes fuels. The environmental damage is now very minor due to modern technology. In addition, companies also have an interest in respecting environmental rules for their own safety.”
Environmental legislation should not be an obstacle to business
The fact that such a strategy is difficult to combine with the energy ambitions – Tunisia wants about 35 percent of its energy to be generated sustainably by 2030, compared to 3 percent now – is not something that keeps the Tunisian government awake, according to the expert. “The civil servants involved in sustainable energy are involved in decision-making, but our country does not excel in strategic thinking. In this way, the very scarce water goes to water-guzzling international textile companies for next to nothing. According to a circular from the Said government a few months ago, environmental legislation should not be an obstacle to business.”
The underlying reason is that the treasury is virtually empty. Mehdi Abdelli, former spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, is discouraged by the lack of interest in sustainability. “The environment is almost a taboo in Tunisia. The ministry is ignored and has no money and capacity to conduct serious research. Let alone enforcing rules. The refinery at Bizerte is a good example. Everyone knows that oil refineries continuously produce CO2 emissions, but to my knowledge, only one environmental report has been published on the STIR in 65 years, in 2013.”
Environmentally speaking, the STIR can hardly be called an oil refinery anymore, experts say. Self-employed energy expert Mohamed Ghazi Ben-Jamia headed the Tunisian branch of an international oil company from Kuwait and was involved in negotiations with the Tunisian government about a second refinery. “Our conclusion was that renovating the Tunisian refinery is not economically feasible. All equipment must be replaced. It would be smarter to build a new refinery. We were then in the race for a permit for a new refinery, but that tender was canceled due to an internal conflict.” Tunisia has a lot of potential in the field of oil due to its location, but has missed all opportunities so far.”
Keep it that way, emails a spokesperson for environmental organization Greenpeace NRC. “Oil refineries can have a devastating impact on air and water quality. Local residents are therefore more at risk of respiratory diseases, and water sources are being lost. Due to the global shift to renewable energy, there will likely be fewer oil refineries by 2050. But many rich countries would rather move their refineries elsewhere than invest in less CO2emissions,” said the spokesperson, citing North Africa and West Asia as regions most affected by these “neo-colonial practices.”
International law
The anonymous energy expert is supported in the Netherlands by energy market expert Cyril Widdershoven. “If European technology is used for the construction of new refineries, the environmental damage may not be as bad as expected. International oil companies, especially listed ones, cannot afford to make a mess.” Energy expert Ben-Jamia is not convinced: “Oil companies will never invest enough to minimize environmental damage. This requires strict international legislation. So that oil companies and countries, if violated, pay the costs of the damage caused, with penalties high enough to deter them from polluting again.”
The name of the Tunisian oil expert is known to the editors.