Algeria Bid Round Closes: International Oil and Gas Giants Await the Results
The Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), a magazine specialising in surveys of the economies of the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted Algeria’s first international hydrocarbons tender in a decade.
MEES questioned whether this bid round, which covers an area larger than England, would be a major success for the Algerian government in attracting major international players, including the potential entry of American giants Chevron and ExxonMobil into the country, and the return of British Petroleum.
The latest issue of MEES magazine, published on May 2, 2025, a weekly energy publication focusing on news, data, and analysis of the energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, stated that the current round, launched by the National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources (ALNAFT) last October after several years of preparation, includes six large onshore blocks covering a total area of 152,000 km2, making it larger than England. It includes promising regions rich with oil and gas resources, noting that contracts will be awarded under the new hydrocarbons law issued in 2019, in the form of production-sharing (PSC) or “Participation” contracts.
According to the magazine, Algeria hopes this round will provide a strong boost to investment and production in the hydrocarbons sector, especially in light of the steady decline in oil production since before the OPEC+ restrictions came into effect in 2020. The country has not yet been able to restore its production levels, which exceeded one million barrels per day, at a time when domestic consumption rates are increasing, impacting export volumes and, consequently, revenues.
In the gas sector, production reached a new peak in 2023, reaching 104.8 billion cubic meters, but has since declined, also due to growing domestic demand.
The magazine recalled the failure of the previous round, held in 2014, which resulted in the award of only four of the 31 blocks offered. Algerian authorities are seeking to avoid a recurrence through a new strategy aimed at launching annual bidding rounds. Preparations are currently underway to bid on 17 additional blocks, some of which are located offshore in the Mediterranean.
Among Algeria’s most prominent ambitions in this round, according to the magazine, are attracting American companies Chevron and ExxonMobil, with whom Algerian officials met during the recent Algerian-American Energy Forum in Houston. Other meetings also included the American company Occidental Petroleum (OXY), which is considered a major investor in Algeria, despite entering the market through an unplanned deal following the blocking of the sale of Anadarko’s assets to the French TotalEnergies.
Despite OXY’s declining production from the Berkine region (southern Algeria), the company still considers Algeria a key focus of its strategy, with particular interest in unconventional potential, such as shale gas.
In contrast, the magazine noted that TotalEnergies, a major current investor, may find itself marginalised in light of the increasing tension in Algerian-French relations, despite the company developing its investments in the Tin Fouyé in Tabankort-TFT field and seeking to increase its production to 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2026.
The Italian company Eni has become the most prominent foreign player in Algeria, according to the magazine, after strengthening its presence in the Berkine region, acquiring BP’s assets in In Amenas, and an operating stake in the Touat project in the southwest of the country, allocating investments exceeding 8 billion euros over four years.
