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With the exploitation of its offshore hydrocarbon potential, Algeria should increase its energy potential and, in turn, the level of production and exports. According to the studies launched, the results look promising.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, has in fact affirmed that ongoing studies on offshore hydrocarbon exploration in Algeria have revealed positive indicators, particularly with regard to natural gas.
“The studies carried out in two regions, the first between Skikda and Béjaïa and the second between Aïn Témouchent and Tlemcen, revealed positive indicators, given the significant wealth in natural gas contained in these two important sites,” he said. declared last Thursday during a plenary session at the Council of the Nation.
The minister indicated that offshore hydrocarbon exploration was among the programs put in place by the State for the development of the oil and gas sector, and that studies are underway to determine the best exploration techniques. “Once all the conditions are met, we will launch exploration,” noted Mr. Arkab, specifying that only 47% of the national mining domain has been explored, and this in the North, the Hauts Plateaux and the South. “We still have a way to go, particularly with offshore exploration given the safe and very important indicators that we will exploit in due course,” he said.
As a reminder, Algeria had expressed its desire to explore its offshore hydrocarbon potential, despite the high extraction costs compared to onshore exploration, given the promising contribution of offshore. The national hydrocarbon company Sonatrach had planned to carry out its first offshore oil drilling in 2023.
Algeria-EU electrical connection: discussions in final phase
The Minister of Energy also mentioned the gas market but especially the strategy adopted by Algeria in this area. Mr. Arkab thus affirmed that Algeria had integrated into its strategy the intensification of gas production as a priority to make it a resource accompanying the development of different energies, such as renewable energies.
He also stressed that Algerian gas prices were among “the best in the world at the moment”, recalling the position of Algeria, which is one of the main suppliers of natural gas to Europe. and which intends to consolidate its place in this area.
The minister also returned to the electricity connection project between Algeria and Europe via Italy, affirming that the discussions were in their final phase.
In this sense, it should be noted that during the meeting which brought together, on May 9, the CEO of the Sonelgaz Group, Mourad Adjal, and the Italian ambassador to Algeria, Alberto Cutillo, the project of the electrical interconnection was mentioned. Sonelgaz then indicated that the two parties had expressed their common desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy field, particularly with regard to electrical interconnection, through the construction of an underwater cable connecting the Algeria to Italy via Sardinia.
Transport of ores from Gara Djebilet: delivery planned on time
During the plenary session of the Council of the Nation, the project of transporting iron ores to Béchar was also discussed. Asked about the realization of this project, the Minister of Energy recalled the signing, by the National Iron and Steel Company FERAAL and the Chinese company Sinosteel, of a contract for the construction of a first unit of pretreatment of iron ores in Tindouf, with a capacity of 4 million tonnes/year. The project will be completed by 2025.
The mine will be exploited and developed through the realization of other projects such as the iron ore processing and iron concentrate production plant in Béchar, which will come into service by 2026, as part of a partnership between FERAAL and Tosyali, according to the minister.
As for transport, Mr. Arkab announced that the railway line providing the Gara Djebilet-Tindouf-Béchar connection, whose construction is planned between 2023 and 2026, is experiencing remarkable progress, adding that the transport of iron ore to the factory processing of Béchar will be done within the allotted time frame.
Emphasizing the strategic nature of the Gara Djebilet mine project, the minister stressed that the exploitation of the mine had started in its western part, the stock of which is estimated at 1.26 billion tonnes out of a global stock. of 3 billion tonnes.