PM Sellal: “Algeria lost $ 7.8 billion over 5 months… and we slashed a number of projects
Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has pointed to the constraining socio-economic juncture facing the country, saying that Algeria lost 7.8 billion dollars over the past five months adding that the government has been compelled to slash a number of non-essential development projects as a result.
Taking the floor at the Sonatrach premises in Algiers on Monday Abdelmalek Sellal urged the national hydrocarbons company to “further invest” in the exploration, the production and the development of hydrocarbons.
“Our potential is not sufficiently explored and exploited. We should exploit the new discoveries. It is possible and important. SONATRACH must further invest in the exploration, the production and the development of hydrocarbons,” said the Premier during a meeting with the executives of the energy sector.
Sellal underscored that hydrocarbons constitute the State’s main source of revenues and foreign exchange reserves, adding that increasing their production will also help boosting the non-hydrocarbon economic development.
He also urged the sector’s executives to develop hydrocarbon exploration to increase the reserves, adding that the world’s average drilling capacity is 105 wells per 10,000 km² against only 14 wells in Algeria.
In this regard, the Premier recommended the strengthening of human resource training in order to boost the exploration, production and distribution capacities.
Concerning the rationalization of human and material resources management, Sellal underlined that SONATRACH “should invest in its field of expertise and the same for SONELGAZ (the national electricity and gas company).”
The Prime minister also dwelt on other issues relating to the rationalization of consumption, energy transition and the promotion of downstream activities, particularly in petrochemical industry through the modernization of refining activities and the development of petrochemical production in order to become an importing country of these products.