Qatar Petroleum is studying building an oil refinery in Tunisia after the government there selected it to proceed with the plant, an industry source in Qatar said.

“Tunisia selected Qatar Petroleum as the front-runner for the refinery project,” the source said.
“The project is still at a very preliminary stage, and Qatar needs to ensure it is bankable before it proceeds,” he added.
QP and British company Petrofac competed for the project. Both were pre-qualified as investors to build the plant.
The refinery would have capacity of 120,000 to 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) and be located at the coastal town of Skhira.
When Tunisia announced the tender for the project in December 2005, the plant had an investment cost of around $1.5 billion. Industry reports since then have pegged the cost closer to $2 billion.
Libya said in January that it was studying building the refinery jointly with Tunisia and international investors.
QP will transfer the project to a newly formed international investment arm, Qatar Petroleum International, once QPI is up and running and fully staffed, the industry source said.