TUNISIA - The Energy Department.

The Energy Department controls all the 100% state-owned companies of this sector. These include:

-Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activites Petroliere (ETAP), in charge of the petroleum sector as well as state's partnerships with foreign E&P operators. It handles oil/gas production, exports and imports (see OMT). Its exploration department makes the annual offers of E&P blocks. All data on such blocks are available without charge and the department offers a special data room at its premises for companies interested.

-Societe de Recherches et d'Exploitation des Petroles de Tunisie (SREPT), in charge of exploration and the upstream sector.

-Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz (STEG), the power and gas utility.

-Societe Tunisienne des Industries de Raffinage (STIR), the oil refiner.

-Societe Nationale de Distribution des Petroles (SNDP), in charge of oil products and LPG distribution.

Others in this sector include the Trans-Tunisian Pipeline Co. (TTPC), part of ETAP and STEG, which manages the system of gas pipelines in the country; the Trans-Tunisian Pipeline Service Co. (Sergaz), owned 66% by Snam of Italy and 34% by ETAM, manages the Tunisian transit sector of the TransMed gas pipeline from Algeria to Italy; and SEGMA, which does an inventory of the country's offshore gas reserves. SEGMA is owned 40% by ETAP, 40% by TotalFinaElf and 20% by OAPEC's Apicorp.

One of Nahdi's priorities has been a high-voltage link between the power networks of Tunisia and Libya. To be completed in 2000, this is part of a grand scheme to link the power grids of North Africa with those of Europe. The project is managed by STEG and Libya's General Electric Company and has been partly financed by the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD).

Eventually, Tunisia will be linked to Europe's power network through a marine line to Italy. It will be linked to Egypt's network, which will have interconnections with the Arab north-east, Turkey and East Europe. From there a link with West Europe is planned. At the same time, Tunisia will be linked to the rest of the Maghreb region and Morocco will be linked to West Europe through Spain.

The energy integration with Europe is to have major economic and geo-strategic implications for Tunisia. Among other things, it will raise the importance of gas trunklines from North Africa to the European continent. These consist of the TransMed gas pipeline from Algeria to Italy, which passes through Tunisia with a capacity of 25 BCM/year, and the pipeline from Algeria to Spain which passes through Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar. The pipeline from Algeria to Spain, on stream since late 1996, will have a capacity of more than 20 BCM/year in this decade and will be extended to reach other West European markets. There is also a gas pipeline being built from Libya to Italy.

President Ben Ali and key ministers are involved in Tunisia's planned economic integration with the European Union, based on an agreement signed in 1995 by Tunis for a 12-year transition. The key figures include Mohamed Ghannouchi, the prime minister since November 1999 and previously minister of international co-operation and foreign investment.