The energy trade balance deficit increased from TND 3.83 billion (EUR 1.16 billion) at the end of September 2021 to TND 7.05 billion (EUR 2.14 billion) at the end of September 2022, up 84%, according to the National Observatory of Energy and Mines (ONEM).
This deterioration is the result of a rise of imports (+77% to TND 10.3 billion) insufficiently offset by the growth of exports (+66% to TND 3.88 billion). Several factors can explain these developments: the deterioration of the exchange rate (depreciation by 11% of the TND against the USD between the end of September 2021 and the end of September 2022), by the increase in the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil (+56% over the period) and by the increase in the price of Algerian gas (+93% over the period). At the same time, the rate of energy independence fell from 53% to 49%, mainly due to a reduction in national hydrocarbon production.
Indeed, national crude oil production reached 1.25 million tons at the end of September 2022, down 13% from the same period last year.
The average daily production of oil barrels went down from 40,400 to 35,500 in the same period. The contribution of oil fields “Halk el Manzel” and “Sidi Marzoug,” which came into production in 2021, remains insufficient to offset the decline in production recorded in several fields, including “Baraka” (-65%), “Adam” (-22%) and “Hasdrubal” (-17%).
Other fields have recorded, on the contrary, an improvement in production namely “Gherib” (+111%) and “Franig” (+16%).
