French Engie Officially Withdraws From Toua-Gaz Field in Adrar

By presidential decree, the Algerian government has formalised the departure of another French company from the Algerian market. This time, it concerns the energy giant Engie, whose shares in the Touat gas field in Adrar (southern Algeria) were officially acquired by the Thai PTTEP company and the Italian company Eni.

In this context, a presidential decree dated February 17, 2026, published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette, states that Addendum No. 5 to the contract dated July 10, 2002, for hydrocarbon exploration, appraisal, and exploitation in the area known as Touat (Blocks 352A and 353), signed in Algiers on November 10, 2025, between the national company Sonatrach and the company “E&E Algeria Touat B.V.”, has been approved.

As is known, the Touat gas field was operated by Sonatrach in partnership with Neptune Energy and the French company Engie (formerly Gaz de France). In 2024, the Italian company Eni acquired Neptune Energy’s stake, bringing its share in the field to 35%, with Sonatrach holding approximately 35% and Engie 30%.

The decree published in the Official Gazette did not include full details of the deal. Still, a high-ranking source in the energy sector explained to Echorouk that, under the agreement, which received the green light from the Algerian authorities several weeks ago and was formalised by the decree, the stake previously held by the French company Engie was sold to the Thai company PTTEP for 22%. The Italian company Eni acquired 8%, increasing its stake to 43%, while Sonatrach’s direct share remained at 35%.

Under the agreement, all gas produced by this field is now sold to the national oil company, Sonatrach, according to the same source.
The project had previously stalled, and production ceased in the fall of 2021 due to mercury contamination of the gas processing facility. Following Eni’s acquisition of Neptune Energy’s British assets, investments were made to restart production.

According to the source who spoke to Echourouk, production at the Touat gas field is currently stable, with daily output estimated at approximately 13 million cubic meters and annual production at 4.5 billion cubic meters.