Yousfi: Sonatrach Not Worried About Its Shares in the European Gas Market

Algeria is not worried about its shares in the European gas market according to Energy and Mining Minister Youcef Yousfi.

Mr Yousfi told reporters at the sidelines of the 20th World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar, that the state run Sonatrach energy group is not facing any competition in the European gas market, notably from Qatari and Russian gas companies, as reported by media.

“We are not enduring any competition as reported by the press, and I’ve no fears on that side. The world needs more gas, which is to replace the nuclear energy in the upcoming years,” Mr Yousfi reaffirmed.

 “There’s absolutely no problem for Sonatrach’s market shares. We are key actor, and we are preserving our shares in the market and our export capacities,” reassured the minister.

In fact, Algeria is worried about the potential repercussions of the Eurozone debt crisis on the gas needs and prices, Yousfi said. 

He further admitted that although Algeria’s gas reserves are important, they cannot be compared to those of Qatar or Russia, which “are both more superior.” Yet, he stressed that the European gas market will need more Algerian gas, after abandoning the nuclear energy.  

Mr Yousfi stressed that “We will not struggle with companies to place supplementary gas quantities in the European market, this is not our objective. Our current concern is to boost our resources; we should think for longer term strategy.”