LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Algeria's In Amenas gas plant,which was attacked by Islamist militants a year ago, will beoperating at full capacity within weeks as work on the last ofits three processing units is nearing completion, a seniorAlgerian energy official said.
In Amenas produced about 11.5 percent of Algeria's naturalgas output before the attack and full resumption would free upmore of the fuel for export to Europe.
"Two thirds of capacity is already on stream and the lastunit will start in a few weeks so In Amenas will be back at fullcapacity in a few weeks," Ali Hached, senior adviser toAlgeria's energy minister, said on the sidelines of a conferencein London on Tuesday.
He said the capacity of the site was about 30 million cubicmetres per day and that it was currently producing around 20million cubic metres.
Norway's Statoil, which operates In Amenas with BP and Algeria's state-owned Sonatrach, said in May thatproduction at the second of the three processing trains hadresumed but that it was unclear when then third wouldreopen.
Forty oil workers, all but one foreign, died at In Amenas inJanuary after the militants took expatriates hostage during afour-day siege that ended when Algerian forces stormed the site.
BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley told a conference call foranalysts in October that expansion projects for In Amenas and InSalah gas producing sites would not get going in 2014 asplanned.
BP has yet to send foreign contractors back to In Amenasthough Algerian officials said new security reinforcements and alanding pad were in place at the desert complex.
BP has said it expects to return personnel to the Algeriansites once agreed security measures are in place.
Statoil said in November some of its staff had returned on apermanent basis to its operational centre at Hassi Messaoud,some 700 km (435 miles) to the southeast of Algiers but that itwould take more time to return to In Amenas.
Hached said the companies were gradually returning theirstaff to sites deep in the desert, starting with oil and gasproducing complex Hassi Messaoud, and would eventually go backto sites at In Salah and In Amenas.
BP (BP.)
