The Hydrocarbons sector recorded a growth of more than 3% in 2021, a performance observed from the second quarter and which increased in the last three months of last year, according to the National Statistics Office (ONS).

“The growth was marked by a 3.1% increase in 2021 in the hydrocarbon activity compared to 2020 which recorded a drop of 8.2%. An increase in the production was recorded from the second quarter (+9.7%) to the fourth quarter,” underlined the source.

The branch crude oil and natural gas experienced a recovery in its production in the second quarters (+3.1%, +4.5% and +8.4%), with an annual average increase of 2.2%.

Natural gas liquefaction is another branch with contributed to the growth of the sector: increases marked the four quarters of 2021 and notably the first quarter with +16.2% and the last one with 17.5%, i.e. an annual average increase of 11.4%.

The branch of crude oil refining experienced a negative annual variation (-0.5%), despite an 8.1% growth during the last four months of 2021. However, drops were recorded in the second quarter (-2.4%) and third quarter (-8.6%), after an increase of +0.7% during the first three months of 2021.