On October 8, 2026, Zhejiang Construction Investment announced that its subsidiary, Zhejiang Industrial Equipment Installation Group Co., Ltd., recently signed a contract for the mechanical and electrical installation of the Hasse Messaoud Refinery Project in Algeria, with a contract amount of approximately 215 million US dollars, or approximately 1.465 billion yuan. The project is tentatively scheduled to commence in December 2026 and is planned to achieve mechanical completion by January 2030. This is the stage of signing the contract for mechanical and electrical installation engineering. The contract amount of 215 million US dollars is a provisional value, and the final amount shall be subject to actual settlement; The project is tentatively scheduled to start construction in December 2026 and mechanical completion in January 2030, both of which are planned milestones. There are multiple uncertainties in project implementation, such as engineering changes, safety production, geographical environment, and force majeure, which pose a risk of project delay.

Core installation section of a five million ton refinery

The Hasse Messaoud Refinery is located in the town of Hasse Messaoud in the southeastern part of Ouargra Province, Algeria. It is situated in the core oil producing area of Algeria and is led by Sonatrach, the national oil company of Algeria. The designed annual processing capacity is about 5 million tons. It is a national key energy project for Algeria to enhance its refining capacity and improve its petroleum industry chain. The mechanical and electrical installation section one undertaken by Zhejiang Installation is directly contracted by the general contracting consortium. The consortium is composed of TECNICAS REINDAS S.A. from Spain and Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering Company, with the name UTE TR-SE HASSI MESSAOUD PROJECT. Zhejiang Installation is responsible for the supply of materials, on-site construction, installation and commissioning of mechanical and electrical equipment, and related supporting work for this section. In the EPC general contracting consortium, TECNICAS REUNIDAS from Spain holds a 51% stake, while Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering Company holds a 49% stake. In 2019, the project was initially awarded to a consortium of TECNICAS REINDAS and Samsung Engineering in South Korea, with a contract amount of approximately 3.7 billion US dollars; After the Samsung contract was cancelled at the end of 2024, it was taken over by Sinopec, and the new contract amount increased to about 4 billion US dollars.

The formation of a full chain penetration pattern of Chinese enterprises

The participation of Chinese enterprises in the Hassi Mesaud Refinery project is not a single breakthrough, but covers multiple stages from general contracting to core equipment installation. Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering Company, as a Chinese member of the EPC consortium, is responsible for design, procurement, and overall project management. Shaanxi Huajian has previously signed a contract for the installation and construction of the core equipment of the project, responsible for PKG 4, including 1.35 million tons of continuous reforming equipment per year. China Machinery Construction has undertaken the PKG 2 and PKG 5 sections of the core public area, including the power plant unit, nitrogen and instrument gas production unit, natural gas collection unit and other process units of the entire plant. The signing of the mechanical and electrical installation section one in Zhejiang is another new link in this participation chain. For Zhejiang Installation, this is their first entry into the Algerian refining engineering market. For the project as a whole, the participation of Chinese enterprises in the Hasse Mesaud Refinery has extended from the EPC general contracting level to multiple core equipment installation sections. Keywords: the Belt and Road News Network, Refinery, Enterprise Industry, Enterprise Sailing

Seven billion US dollars refining capacity expansion window

Algeria is pushing for a large-scale expansion of refining capacity. According to the Algerian Minister of Energy, the country has allocated a $7 billion investment portfolio for major industrial projects, with the goal of increasing the conversion rate of hydrocarbons into higher value-added products from 32% to 50% within the next 5 years. The Hassi Masaud Refinery is one of the core projects of this plan, with a designed annual production capacity of 5 million tons. The early planning goal of the project is to start production by the end of 2027; The mechanical installation contract disclosed that the mechanical completion is tentatively scheduled for January 2030, indicating that the project may be put into operation later than earlier expectations. The Alze Refinery project is also being promoted in the same batch. In November 2025, Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering Company signed a contract with Sonatrach for the construction of a heavy naphtha catalytic processing unit at the Alze Refinery, with an amount of approximately 450 million US dollars. Sinopec has formed a dual project layout in the refining field of Algeria, including the Hasse Messaoud and Al Aze projects. Risk Warning: This is the stage of signing the mechanical and electrical installation engineering contract. The contract amount of 215 million US dollars is a provisional value, and the final amount is subject to actual settlement; The project is tentatively scheduled to start construction in December 2026 and mechanical completion in January 2030, both of which are planned milestones.Editor/Gao Xue