Algeria’s state-owned energy firm Sonatrach expects to sign in the coming days an agreement with Chevron that is set to boost the country’s natural gas production, Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab has said. Algeria, the North African OPEC producer, is looking to raise its natural gas production and exports and will remain a key provider of gas to Europe, the minister said. Last week, the other U.S. supermajor, ExxonMobil, signed an agreement with the Algerian government for exploration at two natural gas fields in the North African country. Algeria holds huge conventional natural gas reserves, and it is also estimated to have the third–largest shale gas reserves in the world after China and Argentina. Most of Algeria’s gas exports are heading to Europe, which is increasingly betting on Africa to import large volumes of pipeline gas and LNG to replace pipeline gas supply from Russia, which was Europe’s top gas supplier before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 30, 2024 13:46 UTC