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Sonatrach has made eight “large and very important” discoveries in the field of hydrocarbons on new sites in Algeria since the start of 2024, announced the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab.
“We have made major discoveries since the beginning of this year until the end of last week of May, very important discoveries, eight in number, which will make it possible to strengthen national hydrocarbon reserves, particularly in regarding natural gas,” revealed the minister who was a guest on Public Television. He specified that these discoveries concerned “new hydrocarbon deposits located in Béchar, south of In Salah, north of Djanet, south of Illizi and north of Ouargla”.
Arkab also announced the signing of an important agreement between Sonatrach and the hydrocarbon giant Chevron in the coming days, which will make it possible to “develop a large deposit” and increase national hydrocarbon production, and this after the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between Sonatrach and ExxonMobil which will be crowned by “development contracts before the end of the year and will contribute to the strengthening of natural gas production in Algeria”.
In this regard, he recalled that Sonatrach had previously signed, within the framework of the law on hydrocarbons which came into force in 2020, with the largest global companies such as the Norwegian companies Equinor, Italian Eni and American Occidental Petroleum, “important” contracts in the field of exploitation, refining and production of hydrocarbons.
Reaffirming the reliability of Algeria as an exporter of natural gas for Europe and Asia, the Minister of Energy and Mines expressed the determination of the Algerian authorities to continue their efforts to supply their partners in quantities important in these markets, reiterating “Algeria’s objective to increase and intensify gas production”.
In the same vein, Arkab affirmed that Algeria has the capacity to increase its gas production to 200 billion cubic meters per year “in the medium term”, against a current production of 137 billion cubic meters.
The minister stressed that the significant achievements recorded in the field of partnership are the result of the enlightened policy of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, aimed at improving the investment climate, welcoming the dynamics experienced by the Algeria in many sectors.
Algeria is working to create an African electricity network
Asked what are the prospects for transformation activity and valorization of hydrocarbon resources locally, Arkab affirmed that the objective set is to increase the valorization rate from around 32% currently to 50% at the end of the year. future, within the framework of the petrochemical activity.
The minister specified that, in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic, the export of iron ore and phosphate ore is now prohibited for their local processing, adding that, for hydrocarbons, an objective has been set in the framework of the Government’s action plan and the Sonatrach program to achieve the transformation of 50% of crude oil locally for the manufacture of raw materials for the manufacturing industry in Algeria, currently imported.
Concerning electricity, the minister indicated that work is underway to carry out a project to connect the electricity network in the north of the country to the network in the south, specifying that the work is currently in the wilaya of El Meniaa, and that “this megaproject” was able to strengthen the electrification of agricultural operations in the south, and to boost development in general.
“64,000 farms across the country have been connected to the electricity network,” said the minister, adding that the expected objective was to reach 100,000 farms, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The minister also mentioned the project to interconnect the national electricity network with the African network, with a view to “accessing the African market”, through high and very high voltage electricity transmission lines, parallel to a line railway going to Adrar and Tamanrasset. “The idea is to know how to create a unified and interconnected African electricity network, knowing that 700 million Africans live without electricity,” said the minister, stressing that Algeria “is a strong country in terms of electricity production. electricity and energy management.
He indicated that he had numerous meetings with African officials, with whom he examined the means of transferring Algerian expertise in this area, recalling the importance of the project relating to the electrical line which extends to Europe. through Italy, for the export of electricity to the European market.