ALGIERS – Sunday, 10 December 2023 (APS) – The energy sector has experienced an exceptional year in 2023, marked particularly by the signing of several agreements with international firms and hydrocarbon discoveries allowing the country to increase its export earnings and have strategic reserves for the national economy.
The year 2023 also saw the implementation of President Tebboune’s guidelines in the last Council of Ministers of 2022, in which he called to “raise the level of gas production with a view to preserving the national average of consumption on the one hand, and to bolster exports on the other, in line with the commitments made by Algeria towards its foreign partners.”
The year is wrapping up with a rich record of achievements for the energy sector, including the conclusion of several agreements signed by Sonatrach with global firms on various fields of cooperation related to hydrocarbons, which confirm the role of the national company as a reliable energy supplier.
The National Agency for the Promotion of Hydrocarbons Resources (ALNAFT) said that as part of the new hydrocarbons law, Sonatrach inked contracts with six global companies in 2023, namely Eni, Occidental Petroleum, TotalEnergies, Sinopec and Pertamina. Negotiations with major companies are underway for the conclusion of other contracts.
A new submarine gas pipeline and power cable with Italy
The important agreements signed in 2023 also include the one between Sonatrach and the Italian group “ENI”, in Algiers, regarding the increase in gas supplies and the reduction of emissions.
Strategic bilateral agreements were signed, in the presence of President Tebboune and the President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giogria Meloni, who was on a visit to Algeria. The agreements sealed relate to building a new gas pipeline to transport natural gas and alternatively blue and green hydrogen and ammonia, as well as the laying of a submarine power cable and the extension of the current capacity to liquefy natural gas.
“This is a crucial project that will transform Italy into a distribution hub of energy products to Europe,” the President of the Republic underscored, speaking about the new gas pipeline project.
As for marketing, major gas delivery contracts were also implemented in 2023. They include, among others, the agreement signed by Sonatrach with the Chinese company Wanhua Chemical for the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Wanhua’s petrochemical complex in China.
Sonatrach further signed a key agreement with the Turkish company Botas on the sale and purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the Turkish market over the next three years.
In July 2023, the national company conducted its first LNG delivery to ENI, at the new Piombino floating regasification terminal in Italy, through a gas tanker owned by the Hyproc subsidiary, paving the way for enhancing gas volumes to this new terminal.
2023 also concludes with Sonatrach taking up its activities in Libya.
Regarding discoveries, the company announced 10 new oil and gas field discoveries, on top of 16 others made in 2022. Such achievements confirm the country’s significant oil and gas potential and the efforts made in exploration and reserve renewal.