Algeria 's Gas Exports Reached 55 Billion M3 In 2017

Algeria exported 55 billion cubic meters of gas in 2017, which is very close to the level of the previous year, Head of Sonatrach company, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, disclosed Tuesday.

Sonatrach officials said exports were 54 billion cubic meters in 2016, down from an initial estimate of 57 billion cubic meters that as announced by the company late last year.

On the other hand, Ould Kaddour added that Sonatrach is planning to ship crude oil for refining outside Algeria, as it seeks to cut its fuel import bill, which hit a record $ 2.5 billion last year.

“Sonatrach is negotiating to buy shares in a foreign refinery. Sonatrach developed relations with foreign partners and solved more than cases 10 out of 15 cases of litigation”.

On Tuesday, a ceremony was held to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Tiguentourine gas facility in Ain Aminas(Southern Algeria), in the presence of the Sonatrach head, Abdulmoumen Kaddour, local officials of the state of Illizi, British Petroleum officials, and the Norwegian Statoil company.

The participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the workers who were killed in the attack on Tiguentourine company, five years ago, before putting a wreath on the memorial that was inaugurated by the General Mnanager, Abdelmoumen Kaddour, at the life base.

In the same context, the production of the gas company of Tiguentourine (Illizi state) registered a rise of 8.8 billion cubic meters in 2017, according to Salim Djattou, the director of the group of  companies, Sonatrach, British Petroleum, and Statoil.

According to a press release by the same official on the sidelines of a visit of Sonatrach General Manager, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, to the company that was attacked by a terrorist group on January 16, 2013, the current production rate for this group that is managed by Sonatrach, BP, and Statoil reached between 22 and 23 million m3.

“The gas compound therefore recovered its initial production capacity of 9 billion cubic meters per year, before five years of the terrorist attack exactly”.

Sonatrach signed last December in Algeria an annex to the contract on the extraction and exploitation of gas in Ain Aminas with British Petroleum “BP” and the Norwegian Statoil to raise gas reserves for this region.

The contractors agreed to exploit the development of the reserves at the level of Ain Aminas with an additional capacity of 11 billion cubic meters of gas annually, through an additional investment program worth more than $500 million.

The investment program – which includes the drilling of new development wells, a three-dimensional underground exploration system and a pressure project – will allow the maintaining of a commercial production of the Tiguentourin field in Ain Aminas beyond 2035.

The original contract between the two parties was signed in 1998, while the production started in 2006.

To the present date, a major processing center, which is consisting of three identical trains, a gas pressure plant with three pressure pumps and 63 wells, were completed.