Tunisias only refinery at Bizerte, operated by government-owned Societe Tunisienne des Industries de Raffinage (STIR), has a production capacity of 34,000 bbl/d. Plans proposed in the early 1980s to double the capacity of the refinery have been dropped. Because of its relative lack of refining capabilities, Tunisia exports crude Oil and imports refined products. In December 2005, the Tunisian Ministry of Industry and Energy opened bidding to private companies on a project to build a new refinery at La Skhirra. Ideally, the refinery would have a minimum capacity of 120,000 bbl/d, be built on a build-own-operate basis adjacent to the La Skhirra oil terminal and begin operations in 2010. The ministry plans to award the project by June 2007.
Tunisia has five oil export terminals on the Mediterranean coast. The largest of these is La Skhirra, on the Gulf of Gabes. A 22,000-bbl/d, 78-mile Pipeline between the Sidi El Kilani oilfield and La Skhirra was inaugurated in March 2001. La Skhirra also handles about 22 percent of Algerias oil exports. It is linked to the Illizi Basin oilfields in southern Algeria by a 480-mile pipeline. Other Tunisian oil terminals include Gabes, Zarzis, Bizerte and the Ashtart offshore terminal.