(4 minutes read)
- Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas group, will invest US $40 billion between 2022 and 2026 in oil exploration, production, refining, gas exploration and extraction
- This information was shared by the CEO of the company Hakkar while addressing the press
- He said that of that investment, US$ 8 billion would be set apart for exploration
- One-third of the investments would come from foreign sources.
- The largest share will be devoted to exploration and production.
Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas group, will invest US $40 billion between 2022 and 2026 in oil exploration, production, refining, gas exploration and extraction. This information was shared by the CEO of the company Hakkar while addressing the press. He said that of that investment, US$ 8 billion would be set apart for exploration. One-third of the investments would come from foreign sources.
The largest share will be devoted to exploration and production. Refining also would attract a good chunk of investments. He also revealed Sonatrach’s steps for returning to Libya for partnering with the troubled country’s (Libya) effort to increase oil production. Algeria was active in Libya till 2014. A delegation of the company will go to Libya by the end of February to discuss with its partner- the NOC- the Libyan national company the details about the re-entry into the petrochemical sector.
Sonatrach had made significant investments in oil and gas exploration in Libya. The Algerian company’s four-year plan includes a refinery in Hassi Messaoud (the largest oil field in Algeria) and an extension of the Skikda refinery (north-east) to convert by-products into fuels. It will also set up in January the fourth turbocompressor of the Medgaz pipeline, that transports Algerian gas to Spain and Portugal.
Talking about the financial bottom lines of the company, Hakkar said the group’s revenues have increased by 70% in 2021. It was mainly due to a 19% increase in its hydrocarbon exports. The company has exported US$34.5 billion in 2021 as against US$ 20 billion in 2020. The average price of a barrel of oil was around US$70. But to have some stability in operations and to avoid wide fluctuations in income, Sonatrach’s strategy was to charge a price of US$50 per barrel.
