Algeria to invest $ 80 billion in energy projects

Algeria’s energy group Sonatrach CEO on Sunday announced plans to invest $80 billion in oil and natural gas projects during the next four years.

• Algeria’s energy group Sonatrach CEO on Sunday announced plans to invest $80 billion in oil and natural gas projects during the next four years.
• Addressing a news conference in Algiers, chief executive officer Abdelhamid Zerguine said the company will spend $14 billion on building four refineries and has budgeted $15 billion for investment in 2013, up from $10 billion in 2012, as part of the five-year plan. He did not provide further details.
• The company’s vice president for commerce Yamina Hamdi also said that Algeria may not need to import any fuel oil next year as some domestic refineries have resumed operations.
• Algeria is the holder of the continent’s fourth-largest crude reserves and is working on plans to revamp its energy industry by attracting foreign investors. The North African nation spends a considerable amount of its budget on importing fuel due to lack of refining capabilities. The government is also seeking to approve a hydrocarbons law this year which will give greater incentives to international investors.
• Algeria, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC, pumped 1.2 million barrels a day of crude in October.
• Algeria, Arab world’s second most-populous country after Egypt, will consume up to 80 terawatts of electricity by 2020 and 150 terawatts by 2030, Noureddine Boutarfa, CEO of state-run gas and electricity company Sonelgaz, said while addressing the same conference.