Augusta refinery loss and Algerian dinar exchange rate: what it means
Sonatrach’s Augusta unit saw sales fall by 247.3 billion DZD in 2025; the Algerian dinar exchange rate used to convert euro accounts affects the reported figures.
Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana (the Augusta refinery) recorded a 247. 3 billion dinar fall in revenue in 2025, a move that appears in dinar accounts partly because of the Algerian dinar exchange rate used for conversion. This matters for how losses are reported in national accounts and for readers tracking the euro to dinar rate today or the wider health of the Algerian economy.
What happened
According to Maghreb Émergent, Sonatrach’s Italian refining arm, SRI, posted 601,463 million dinars in revenue in 2025 versus 848,799 million dinars in 2024, a decline of 247. 3 billion dinars or 29. 1%. The group’s consolidated revenue also fell, from 8,641. 7 to 7,382. 6 billion dinars, a 15% drop.
Maghreb Émergent reports the fall in SRI sales converts to dollars using the parities the company disclosed: revenue went from roughly 6. 3 to 4. 6 billion dollars, about 1. 8 billion dollars less, a 27. 8% decline. The report does not publish SRI’s volumes processed or refining margin to explain the full gap.
Background and how we got here
The drop at Augusta coincided with the refinery’s first full stoppage since 2019. SRI progressively shut units around January–February 2025, and deliveries of crude had nearly ceased by March; restart was delayed into May after an incident on a unit and planned torches through 31 May, Maghreb Émergent reports.
A second, lighter shutdown was scheduled from late September to 30 October affecting key units and some exports, including cargoes to Libya and Tunisia. The report also notes Sicilian refining volumes and exports fell broadly in 2025, suggesting the contraction was not limited to Augusta alone.
Algerian dinar exchange rate: the figures in context
Maghreb Émergent notes SRI’s accounts are prepared in euros and then converted into dinars at the average exchange rate for the period, which makes the dinar-dollar parity in the report relevant: the report uses 134. That conversion affects the dinar totals readers see in Sonatrach’s consolidated statements.
For day-to-day market context, EXDZ DATA shows the parallel-market euro buy at 274. 05 DZD; the parallel-market dollar buy is 240. 25 DZD (EXDZ DATA, 2026-11-09). These rates are separate from the historical parities the Sonatrach report used for its 2024–25 conversion.
What this means for households, the diaspora and businesses
For Algerian households, the report does not link SRI’s revenue fall directly to domestic prices or fuel availability; Sonatrach’s local refining activity is reported separately and Algerian refineries processed 26. 2 million tonnes of crude in 2025, 1% less than 2024, according to the same report. Whether that translates into higher local prices is not specified.
Diaspora and businesses following exchange rates should note the difference between the historic parities used in corporate conversion and current market rates: EXDZ DATA lists a wide gap between official and parallel rates for both the euro and dollar. For those considering investing in Algeria, the report highlights operational and market risk at foreign refining assets but does not offer guidance on investing in Algeria.
What is still unknown
Maghreb Émergent reports SRI’s accounts in dinars but does not publish key details such as crude volumes processed by the subsidiary in 2025 or its refining margin; the report omits SRI’s net result from the list of entities contributing to group net income. As a result, the drivers of the larger-than-expected decline versus oil price moves remain unclear.
The company’s report notes higher taxes and costs at SRI—taxes rose to 8. 1 billion dinars and financial charges reached 4. 2 billion dinars—but without a net result for the unit the impact on profitability and future capex is not detailed. Whether further stoppages or export changes will affect supplies to Algeria and neighbouring markets is therefore not yet known.
What to watch next
Watch Sonatrach’s next disclosures for a breakdown of refining volumes and margins for SRI and updates on restart schedules and export volumes. The Maghreb Émergent report mentions planned maintenance windows and past interruptions that affected output and exports to Libya and Tunisia.
Also follow short-term exchange-rate indicators: EXDZ DATA’s parallel- and official-market quotes for the euro and dollar give a sense of currency spreads that affect euro-denominated accounts converted into dinars. On the commodity side, the report used an average oil price falling from 81.
Questions and answers
Why did Augusta’s sales fall so sharply in 2025?
Maghreb Émergent reports a 247. 3 billion dinar drop in SRI revenue and attributes part of the fall to refinery stoppages, including a full stop early in 2025 and a delayed restart after an incident. The report also cites a lower average oil price, but it does not publish SRI’s processed volumes or margins to fully explain the decline.
How large is the loss in dollar terms?
Using the parities in Sonatrach’s report, SRI’s revenue converted from euros fell from roughly 6. 3 to 4. 6 billion dollars, a decline of about 1. 8 billion dollars, according to Maghreb Émergent.
Does the Algerian dinar exchange rate explain the change in reported revenue?
The report says SRI’s euro accounts are converted into dinars at the average exchange rate for the year, and the company used parities of 134. However, the report does not show SRI’s euro-only figures, so exchange-rate effects cannot be isolated from operational factors in the published data.
Will this affect fuel availability or prices in Algeria?
Maghreb Émergent gives Algeria-wide refining figures—26. 2 million tonnes of crude processed in 2025, 1% less than 2024—but the report does not link SRI’s export or operational issues directly to domestic fuel shortages or price changes. The short answer is that the report does not say.
What are current euro and dollar rates to the dinar?
EXDZ DATA (2026-11-09) shows parallel-market euro buy at 274. 05 DZD; the parallel-market dollar buy is 240. 25 DZD. These are market indicators separate from the historical conversion parities used in Sonatrach’s 2024–25 report.
Sources
This explainer summarises reporting from the outlets below. Read the originals for full details.
Written with AI assistance from the sources listed and ExchangeDZ market data, then checked for accuracy and originality. Not financial advice.